Ryne Sandberg returned to the lineup Friday night, just three days after going out with a bruised right hand.
”It`s still a little tender, but I`m going to go out and try it,”
Sandberg said after taking an early round of batting practice. His bat was fitted with a small pad that helped absorb the shock of the ball.
”Our lineup is incomplete without him,” manager Jim Essian said.
”Sometimes you take for granted that you pencil him in. I`ve certainly counted on him being there.”
Bell`s bat booming: After his first 39 games as a Cub, George Bell was hitting .236 with nine homers and 25 RBIs. In his last 40, he`s hitting .361 with seven homers and 25 RBIs. . . . Through Thursday, the bullpen had blown 14 of 39 save opportunities. . . . or 36 percent. . . . Through Thursday, the Cubs had homered in 11 of their last 12 games. They`re on a pace to hit 178 homers, a total they`ve reached only three times. Chico Walker`s 12 pinch hits-in only 23 at-bats-are the most by a Cub since Jerry Mumphrey had 12 in 1987.