BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : A’s to Put McGwire on Disabled List

Manager Tony La Russa of the Oakland Athletics said that he planned to put Mark McGwire, who leads the majors with 38 home runs, on the disabled list today.

McGwire suffered a strained right rib cage diving for a ground ball on Friday night and sat out Saturday’s game.

“It’s no better. Same as yesterday,” he said afterward.

“We thought we’d wait a day to see how it feels, but it’s not any better,” La Russa said. “We’re going to have to put him on the DL.”

The A’s have had several injuries this season.

“Losing Mark is no worse or no better than any of the other losses we’ve had,” La Russa said.

“We’ve gone through so many things, this is just another one, even though it’s really big,” reliever Dennis Eckersley added.

The Baltimore Orioles put outfielder Joe Orsulak, their leading hitter with a .307 average, on the disabled list and recalled pitcher Richie Lewis from triple-A Rochester.

Orsulak suffered a sprained left thumb diving for a hit by Wally Joyner of the Royals in Kansas City on Aug. 15. He hasn’t played since then, and the move is retroactive to Aug. 16.

Orsulak was batting .330 over his last 27 games.

The San Diego Padres activated right-hander Greg Harris from the disabled list and said he was scheduled to start Monday against the Chicago Cubs in San Diego. Harris, 2-4 with a 4.05 ERA, had suffered a broken right middle finger June 21.

To make room for Harris on the roster, the Padres optioned right-hander Frank Seminara to triple-A Las Vegas.

The Philadelphia Phillies put Wes Chamberlain, who suffered a sprained ankle a week ago, on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 19 and recalled outfielder Tom Marsh from triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre.