CASPER
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CHICAGO – The Cubs placed left-hander Ted Lilly on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder.
Lilly also expects to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Monday to repair an injury he believes is unrelated to the shoulder problem. The Cubs hope their lone All-Star will only miss four or five starts and return in mid-August.
With Lilly out, Chicago called up right-handed reliever Justin Berg from Triple-A Iowa before Saturday's game against Cincinnati. Kevin Hart was scheduled to start Saturday and Thursday in Lilly's place.
"One of the most frustrating things is we're right there," said Lilly, who's 9-7 with a 3.59 ERA. "We've got a chance to move into the lead in this division. ... If I wasn't pitching well and we were right there, I would still want to be out there."
Lilly is going on the DL just as Ryan Dempster is scheduled to be activated in time to start Tuesday after being sidelined by a broken toe. Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden have also spent time on the disabled list, yet the Cubs were just 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis in the NL Central through Friday.
Lilly probably would have continued to pitch through the knee injury, which has been bothering him off and on the past few weeks, had the shoulder problem not surfaced after his last start against Philadelphia last Monday. In that game, he allowed nine runs in four innings in a 10-1 loss.
This isn't the first time he's injured the shoulder. Lilly went on the DL with left shoulder and arm problems twice in 2005 while with Toronto but had stayed healthy since joining the Cubs before the 2007 season.
"There's never a positive when a player goes on the DL, but in this case here, we can get his knee and shoulder taken care of at once," manager Lou Piniella said.
Berg is 4-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 24 relief appearances for Iowa this season.
Lilly also expects to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Monday to repair an injury he believes is unrelated to the shoulder problem. The Cubs hope their lone All-Star will only miss four or five starts and return in mid-August.
With Lilly out, Chicago called up right-handed reliever Justin Berg from Triple-A Iowa before Saturday's game against Cincinnati. Kevin Hart was scheduled to start Saturday and Thursday in Lilly's place.
"One of the most frustrating things is we're right there," said Lilly, who's 9-7 with a 3.59 ERA. "We've got a chance to move into the lead in this division. ... If I wasn't pitching well and we were right there, I would still want to be out there."
Lilly is going on the DL just as Ryan Dempster is scheduled to be activated in time to start Tuesday after being sidelined by a broken toe. Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden have also spent time on the disabled list, yet the Cubs were just 1 1/2 games behind St. Louis in the NL Central through Friday.
Lilly probably would have continued to pitch through the knee injury, which has been bothering him off and on the past few weeks, had the shoulder problem not surfaced after his last start against Philadelphia last Monday. In that game, he allowed nine runs in four innings in a 10-1 loss.
This isn't the first time he's injured the shoulder. Lilly went on the DL with left shoulder and arm problems twice in 2005 while with Toronto but had stayed healthy since joining the Cubs before the 2007 season.
"There's never a positive when a player goes on the DL, but in this case here, we can get his knee and shoulder taken care of at once," manager Lou Piniella said.
Berg is 4-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 24 relief appearances for Iowa this season.