ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano is set to fly home to Chicago to be examined by a doctor after leaving the seventh inning of Wednesday night’s game against Tampa Bay because of discomfort in his right shoulder.
Zambrano, a two-time NL All-Star, grimaced after throwing his final pitch, and catcher Geovany Soto motioned toward the dugout for manager Lou Piniella to go out to the mound to check on the right-hander.
“It was out of the blue. I saw something funny. He made a funny face, and I went out there. I knew something was wrong,” Soto said.
Although Zambrano tried to convince Piniella to remain in the game, which the Cubs lost 5-4, the manager didn’t want to take any unnecessary chances.
“We did the right thing getting him out, obviously,” Piniella said.
Zambrano, who won a career-best 18 games in 2007, will fly Thursday to Chicago, where he will see a doctor and have a MRI examination.
“At this point I don’t know nothing. We’ll see what happens tomorrow,” Zambrano said, adding that his shoulder was feeling better. “Hopefully it’s nothing bad.”
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