Cubs' Zambrano to miss start

Jun 19, 2008 - 11:58 PM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs announced Thursday that righthander Carlos Zambrano will miss his next scheduled start due to a shoulder injury he suffered in Wednesday's game.

Zambrano is scheduled to undergo an MR arthrogram on Friday to determine the extent of the "discomfort" in his right arm.

The Cubs are not sure how much time he will miss but have ruled out his next start, which was scheduled for Tuesday against Baltimore.

"We're not looking at Zambrano at all for Tuesday," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "I hope it's not serious, and I hope we can find out what's wrong and we can take care of it in short order."

If the injury is serious, it would be the second big blow to the Cubs in the past week.

The National League Central Division leaders placed top home run hitter Alfonso Soriano on the 15-day disabled list on June 12. The left fielder is expected to miss four to six weeks as he nurses a broken left finger.

Zambrano left in the bottom of the seventh inning at Tampa Bay when he was in obvious pain after throwing one ball to Eric Hinske. Piniella and the team trainer visited Zambrano on the mound and removed the righthander despite the pitcher's wishes.

"He tried to talk me into staying," Piniella said Wednesday. "He was convincing. We just hope for the best."

Zambrano is 8-3 this season with a 3.13 ERA in 16 starts.