Sosa

Chicago Cubs: Sammy Sosa was back in the Cubs' clubhouse Friday after missing several days with a respiratory virus that's ravaged the team. He was so sick he didn't even come to the locker room the previous two days.

"I'm alive again!'' Sosa said, laughing. "I had a little bit of everything. Every time I coughed, I had a little bit of pain in my chest. But you can't keep a good man down!''

Slowed by some soreness in his right quadriceps before he got sick, Sosa has played in just one of the Cubs' eight exhibition games. He planned to be back in the lineup for Saturday's game, against the crosstown rival White Sox.

"I need today to make sure my swing is back,'' he said. "I came in early and worked from the beginning. So I don't think I lost anything.''

While Sosa is healthy again, the flu bug isn't done with the Cubs. Manager Dusty Baker had eight players listed with it on his injury report Friday morning, and he said there are probably eight more who are sick, too. A new player seems to get ill every day, and most players have had some form of the virus or another.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Randy Johnson struck out six in four innings and Luis Gonzalez hit his second homer of the spring, leading Arizona over the Chicago Cubs 8-0 Friday.

Johnson has not allowed a run in nine innings of work this spring. Against the Cubs, he gave up one hit and walked one.

"It must be boring for you guys to write stories on me," said Johnson, who is coming off four consecutive Cy Young Awards. "I threw a lot of splits. I'm just trying to get my arm strength up."

Both benches were warned in the second inning after three batters were hit by pitches. Cubs starter Shawn Estes hit Junior Spivey in the first inning and Steve Finley in the second.

With two outs in the bottom of the second, Johnson hit Charles Gipson after Gipson attempted to bunt for a hit. At that point, plate umpire Dana DeMuth warned both benches.

"It's not going to stop me from pitching inside," Johnson said.

Cubs manager Dusty Baker felt the umpires acted properly.

"The only thing is, we've seen Randy do that before,'' Baker said. "Shawn certainly wasn't trying to hit Finley. We know Randy doesn't like guys bunting on him, but (Gipson) is trying to make the team.

"I don't know if it was intentional or not. It kind of looks bad, especially when you have a reputation that you don't like guys bunting on you. The umpire did the right thing. He stopped it before it got out of hand. It just looks bad. The timing was bad."

Los Angeles Dodgers: Darren Dreifort pitched pain-free in his first start since wrecking his right elbow in June 2001, settling down quickly to throw three innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-4 Friday.

After giving up a double to Jerry Hairston and a home run to Gary Matthews Jr. in his first four pitches, Dreifort retired nine of the next 10 batters and struck out three.

The 30-year-old Dreifort signed a $55 million, five-year contract prior to the 2001 season, then tore his elbow on June 29. He underwent his second ligament transplant surgery and missed all of last season.

Dreifort relieved for two innings last Sunday against Houston. He was so eager to begin his warmups against Baltimore that he sprinted onto the field, intercepting the game ball plate umpire Steve Rippley rolled back to the mound.

"Absolutely, I was ready to get going,'' Dreifort said. "Any day you can face hitters other than guys on your own team, it's a good day.''

Montreal Expos: Orlando Hernandez made a successful debut with the Expos on Friday after missing his first scheduled start because of a toothache.

Taking the mound for the first time since leaving the New York Yankees, El Duque allowed one hit in three shutout innings in a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I felt good out there and I think that's a good sign,'' said Hernandez, traded from the Yankees to Montreal on Jan. 15 in a three-team deal that sent Bartolo Colon to the Chicago White Sox.

While pitching for the Yankees from 1998 to 2002, Hernandez was 10-2 in the postseason. The Expos aren't expected to make the playoffs, but Hernandez is hopeful.

"I want to pitch for this team in October,'' he said.

Hernandez allowed only two runners, both in the first inning, on a walk and single. He retired David Bell on a flyout to escape a jam, starting a string of seven straight outs.

"It was a good outing,'' Expos manager Frank Robinson said. "He mixed his pitches well and had decent control. His velocity was good, too.''

	Giambi

New York Yankees: First baseman Jason Giambi missed his third straight game with an abdominal muscle strain Friday.

Giambi hit off a tee. He expects to take batting practice on Saturday.

"Everything was good," Giambi said. "I didn't feel it. I'm not concerned at all."

Second baseman Alfonso Soriano decided not to take batting practice Friday after briefly playing catch and taking several swings. He missed his second consecutive game with upper right arm-shoulder tendinitis.

"I didn't feel anything, but I'm a little scared it might hurt," Soriano said. "I didn't want to do anything today."

Before taking the field Friday, Soriano said he was hoping to hit. He missed the first three exhibition games with soreness higher up in the right shoulder.

"I want to play," Soriano said. "I want it to be 100 percent.''

Soriano said an MRI taken last month was negative. Another one taken this week also came back negative, which manager Yankees manager Joe Torre said is good news.

"Now you realize he's just going to need a little treatment and a little rest," Torre said after the Yankees lost 9-2 to the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers. "I'm sure it takes a lot off his mind. I mean, this young man has a bright future and you certainly don't want to jeopardize it."

Wells tests tender left ankle
David Wells tested his tender left ankle during a bullpen session Friday while New York Yankees' officials pondered whether to discipline him over his autobiography.

Wells may be punished by the team for a book general manager Brian Cashman says "tarnishes the Yankees' image." Team president Randy Levine conferred Friday with Cashman, assistant general manager Jean Afterman and Wells' agent, Gregg Clifton.

The 39-year-old left-hander has been hit hard in two spring training starts, and sprained his left ankle Wednesday while trying to avoid a grounder in a 12-2 loss to Atlanta.

He threw 48 pitches over 10 minutes Friday, and also took part in stretching and running drills. Wells expects to start Monday against Cleveland.

"I don't see why not," Wells said. "It's a lot better."

X-rays taken Thursday were negative.

Also Friday, reliever Steve Karsay said his sore right shoulder felt "100 percent better than before." The right-hander played catch Thursday and didn't throw Friday, but plans to play catch again Saturday.

Karsay, coming off back surgery, felt the soreness after making his first appearance Monday. There's no timetable for his return.

"It's a step in the right direction," he said.

Philadelphia Phillies: Catcher Mike Lieberthal missed his sixth straight game Friday with an injury that appears to be hip-related.

"The pain is going up in my body," he said Friday after a 7-3 loss to the Montreal Expos. "It was in my legs, now it's near my hips. It feels like a little strain."

Lieberthal is fine until he runs. "That's when I feel it," he said. "I can do everything but run."

The Phillies aren't concerned, saying the injury isn't related to operations Lieberthal had on his right knee in May 2001 and November 2002.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with his knees," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "I just don't think it's important that he play right now. That's all there is to it. Am I worried? No."

When Lieberthal is declared healthy, he is expected to be sent to the minor-league complex for a few days to lead off every inning in Triple-A or Double-A exhibitions.

Oakland A's: Center fielder Chris Singleton is expected to miss a few days after reaggravating a right hamstring injury Friday.

Singleton got hurt when he ran out a single in the first inning of the Athletics' 5-3 exhibition loss against Texas. He stayed on base, but left the game without playing the field.

"I have concerns about it," Oakland manager Ken Macha said. "We're going to be on the cautious side with him."

Singleton first strained the hamstring earlier this week, but thought then that it was only a cramp. He said he expects to miss two-to-three days.

The Athletics signed Singleton as a free agent during the offseason. He played in Baltimore last year after going to the Orioles from the Chicago White Sox.