Cubs’ Sosa sidelined indefinitely

Turns out, Sammy Sosa’s injury is nothing to sneeze at.

The Chicago Cubs’ star has a sprained ligament in his lower back and is probably headed to the disabled list.

Sosa missed Sunday’s game in San Diego after two violent sneezes brought on back spasms. He was examined by Dr. Michael Schaefer, the Cubs’ orthopedic specialist, before Tuesday’s game against the Giants, and tests revealed the sprained ligament.

“He’s going to receive an epidural tonight to calm down some of the inflammation and lower back pain,” general manager Jim Hendry said. “It’s pretty certain he’ll be missing a couple of weeks. So it looks like it’s a (disabled list) situation.”

There were no problems with any discs, Hendry added.

“It’s something that doesn’t seem to be long-term,” Hendry said. “But he’s not going to be ready to go in two or three days.”

Wells lands on DL

Padres left-hander David Wells was placed on the 15-day disabled list, two days after cutting his right wrist and left palm in what was described by the team as an accident at home.

Wells, replaced in the rotation by rookie right-hander Justin Germano, wasn’t available for comment. He was put on the DL retroactive to Monday, meaning he’ll be eligible to be activated on June 1.

General manager Kevin Towers said he believed Wells’ story, that he cut himself on some glass at home Sunday night, hours after losing to the Chicago Cubs.

Mondesi running out of time

The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t ruled out a return by outfielder Raul Mondesi, perhaps as early as this week, but won’t wait much longer for him to decide whether he wants to come back.

Mondesi said last week he wouldn’t play again this season as he deals with a lawsuit brought by a former major leaguer, but has since told Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield he is working out and is in game shape.

“We’ve talked about the possibility of him coming in but, at some point, we’ve got to make a call,” said Littlefield, who talked with Mondesi on Tuesday. “For both sides, we’ll get this solved soon. … We’ve talked to people daily, and we’ve had a lot of communication.”

Piniella tired of losing

Lou Piniella is at loss to explain what’s gone wrong for his Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

“All I know is that I’m tired of losing,” the manager said before the Devil Rays lost to Boston on Tuesday night. “Nothing more. Nothing less. Just tired of losing.”

Tampa Bay is now 10-27, the worst record in the majors.

“We’ve lost in a myriad of ways,” Piniella said. “It’s a combination of things. Sooner or later you have to come to the realization that something isn’t working and you better start looking for some alternatives. That I can tell you.”

The Devil Rays have not won consecutive games this season. They are the 11th team all-time to go this deep into the season without winning two in a row.

Clearing the bases

Yankees slugger Jason Giambi was not in the starting lineup for the second straight game because of back spasms… . Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis is expected to miss the rest of the season after having rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder… . Expos outfielder Carl Everett returned to the lineup after missing 30 games because of an injured right shoulder… . Left-hander Donovan Osborne was designated for assignment by the Yankees when the team activated reliever Felix Heredia. … Angels slugger Troy Glaus has been placed on the 60-day disabled list while preparing for shoulder surgery Friday that could sideline him for the rest of the season. He will miss at least two months… . Free agent outfielder Marvin Benard agreed to a minor league contract with the Blue Jays… . Marlins right-hander A.J. Burnett pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings in his first rehabilitation start since reconstructive elbow surgery last year.