No bad break for Cubs: Kendall's hand OK

Cubs catcher Jason Kendall went to the hospital Monday for what the Cubs termed "precautionary X-rays" on his left hand, which was hit by a pitch from Houston's Woody Williams in Sunday's 6-5 Cubs victory.

Kendall did not play in Monday's 11-3 loss to the Dodgers, but he said there was no break.

"It was more precautionary than anything," he said. "It's one of those things. It swelled up a little bit. I could have played today, but Skip (manager Lou Piniella) just wanted to give me a day. It's fine. It's not broke, and that's a good thing."

Piniella played Henry Blanco in place of Kendall.

"His hand is nice and puffy from getting hit yesterday," Piniella said. "He wanted to play, to his credit. I think a day or two, whatever it takes, will help him."

Piniella also said outfielder Cliff Floyd was suffering from sciatica (lower back). Matt Murton started in place of Floyd, who insisted he was OK.

Let there be no light: Monday's game was delayed at the top of the fifth inning because of a problem with Wrigley Field's lights.

Umpire crew chief Joe West made the Cubs turn off the lights in the bottom of the fourth, when they went on for the first time.

It takes several minutes to reset the lights.

"The Cowboy thought he was an electrician today," Lou Piniella said, playing on West's nickname. "He wanted the lights on, but he wanted them when the Dodgers came up in the (top) half of the fifth.

"What happens over here, like has happened before, it takes awhile once you turn them off to get the juice back flowing. I told the Cowboy he's a good umpire, but an electrician he's not."

Manager Grady Little saw it this way: "I guess they turned the lights on when they were hitting, and they're not supposed to do that. (Heck), it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was shining. Guys were wearing sunglasses out there trying to be able to see, but I guess rules are rules. The pace of the game rules kind of went out the window there."

Not many more: The Cubs may call up a player or two more from the minor leagues today, but to hear Lou Piniella tell it, he has about all he needs as far as numbers go.

"I don't want too many more," Piniella said. "Truthfully, we've got enough people here to make it work. If we get one or two more, that's OK. The last thing that you want to really, really have is too (many) players. It's too much work, and it cuts down on what the other guys can do."

It's possible the Cubs will bring up left-hander Carmen Pignatiello from Class AAA Iowa.

Back on Trachs: Steve Trachsel will start for the Cubs tonight against the Dodgers. It will be his first start as a Cub since Oct. 3, 1999, at St. Louis. His last victory as a Cub came Sept. 28, 1999.

"I'm looking forward to seeing him pitch," Lou Piniella said. "He's been throwing the ball well, according to our reports, the people that have watched him pitch. He's got experience. He's been through this. He's going to be a help here, no question."

Against the Dodgers, Trachsel is 4-10 with a 4.02 ERA. He last faced the Dodgers in 2006 while with the Mets. He gave up 4 runs in 2¿ innings in a 9-1 loss at Shea Stadium.

The Cubs obtained Trachsel last week in a trade with Baltimore.