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CHICAGO -- Cubs right-hander Pedro Strop is set to be activated off the disabled list Friday, solidifying Chicagos bullpen for the playoffs.Strop threw about 20 pitches without difficulty in a simulated game Tuesday and declared himself pain-free following knee and groin injuries. Manager Joe Maddon said Strop would pitch Friday against St. Louis.The Cubs plan to give Strop five appearances before the NL Central champions begin the postseason on Oct. 7.Strop and Hector Rondon figure to share seventh- and eighth-inning duties for the Cubs to set up closer Aroldis Chapman.The 31-year-old Strop needed surgery for a meniscus tear suffered in his last appearance Aug. 10. A groin strain then set back his rehab. He has a 2.89 ERA in 50 appearances this season. Shed Long Mariners Jersey . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. David Segui Jersey . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. https://www.cheapmariners.com/1975k-edgar-martinez-jersey-mariners.html . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Tino Martinez Jersey .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Robinson Cano Mariners Jersey . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Former IBF flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand won his first bout Monday at an Olympic qualifying tournament in Vargas, Venezuela.U.S. contenders Cam F. Awesome, Paul Kroll and Brandon Lynch lost their opening bouts, failing to earn spots at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next month.The 36-year-old Ruenroeng fought at the Beijing Olympics, falling one win shy of a medal. Four years after mounting a successful professional career, he is one of just two moderately prominent pro boxers attempting to take advantage of the International Boxing Associations (AIBA) decision to allow pros to compete in the Olympics by jumping into the final qualifying tournament before Rio.Ruenroeng won his bout in Venezuela against Germanys Artur Bril, who fights in an AIBA-backed professional league. Ruenroeng lost his IBF title less than six weeks ago when John Riel Casimero stopped him.Awesome lost a decision to Ecuadorian heavyweight Julio Cesar Castillo Torres, who also beat him at the previous Olympic qualifying tournament in Azerbaijan last month. Awesome is a four-time U.S. national champion and a two-time Olympic trials champion, but he missed his first Olympic shot four years ago when he failed to complete his drug tests while still fighting under his birth name, Lenroy Thompson.Lost my fight today and now my Olympic run is over, the 27-year-old Awesome said in a post on his Twitter account. Time to re-re-reinvent myself and see whats next for me. It may not be boxing.Awesome has expressed skepticism about becoming a professional, preferring the Olympic-style version of the sport.Kroll also lost a 3-0 decision to Germanys Arajik Marutjan in a welterweight bout, ending the Philadelphia--based fighters Olympic hopes.ddddddddddddLynch lost a decision to Ukraines Rostyslav Arkhypenko in their super heavyweight bout.Six American men and two women have qualified for Rio, but that could be the full extent of the team representing the U.S., the most successful nation in Olympic boxing history.While Claressa Shields won a gold medal and Marlen Esparza earned a bronze during the debut Olympic womens boxing tournament in London, the U.S. men won no medals in 2012 and just one bronze medal in 2008. Andre Ward is the last American man to win a gold medal, although the current team has legitimate medal hopes with bantamweight Shakur Stevenson and flyweight Antonio Vargas.U.S. light heavyweight Jonathan Esquivel beat Bulgarias Spas Genov in his opening bout in Venezuela, but Esquivels path to Rio is now blocked in his next bout by 32-year-old Hassan NDam. The French-Cameroonian fighter who briefly held two versions of an interim middleweight title is attempting to earn another trip to the Olympics after losing in the quarterfinals in Athens 12 years ago.Ruenroeng and NDam are the only significantly accomplished pros attempting to win this final qualifying tournament for the Rio Games under the AIBA rule change, which has drawn widespread condemnation from many fighters and coaches.After drawing initial interest from several pros including Manny Pacquiao and Wladimir Klitschko, AIBAs gambit apparently has failed to attract any big-name boxers into the field. Most boxing observers believe more prominent pros will fight at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. ' ' '