NL | Shoulder trouble puts Carlos Zambrano on Cubs' sideline

Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano will miss his next scheduled start because of shoulder trouble and will undergo an MRI exam today.

Zambrano left Wednesday night's game at Tampa Bay because of discomfort in his right shoulder. He was examined Thursday in Chicago by team orthopedist Dr. Stephen Gryzlo.

Zambrano, 8-3 with a 3.13 earned-run average in 16 starts for the NL Central Division leaders, had been set to pitch Tuesday night at home against the Baltimore Orioles.

"I don't think there's a possibility at all," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said before Thursday's series finale against the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Zambrano was originally set to have an MRI exam Thursday. The Cubs decided to instead schedule an MRI arthrogram, a test in which dye is injected into the problem area to provide a more detailed look.

"I hope it's not serious," Piniella said. "I hope we find out what's wrong and we can take care of it in short order."

Zambrano won a career-best 18 games in 2007.

Arizona: OF Juston Upton had been 0 for 10 with seven strikeouts during a six-game homestand before his double and tiebreaking homer against Oakland.

Atlanta: 3B Chipper Jones went 0 for 4 against Texas as his major league-leading batting average fell below .400 for the first time since April 12. He's hitting .394.

Chicago: OF Alfonso Soriano will have his broken left hand re-examined today. He would like to return before the All-Star break next month.

Cincinnati: OF Ken Griffey Jr. was out of the lineup for a third consecutive game with an undisclosed illness. He also has been bothered by a sore left knee.

Houston: SS Miguel Tejada homered and went 2 for 5, but finished 2 for 12 in his first series against the Orioles since they traded him to the Astros in December.

Milwaukee: 3B Russell Branyan has hit 10 homers in his first 61 at-bats since being called up May 25. He has only 19 total hits.

St. Louis: Jason Isringhausen, working his way back to the closer's role after blowing six of 17 save chances, allowed Kansas City only two hits in 2-1/3 innings — two outs shy of his career-long outing.

San Diego: The Yankees stole four bases — three off RHP Josh Banks — for a second straight game against the Padres.

San Francisco: LHP Barry Zito's former pitching coach with the A's, Rick Peterson, is looking for work after the New York Mets fired him Tuesday. There is speculation the Giants might hire Peterson to guide their $126 million left-hander, who is 2-11 with a 6.32 ERA.

Steroids probe: Federal officials have told the wife of Barry Bonds' personal trainer that she's a target of a criminal investigation, according to a newspaper report.

The New York Times, citing an unidentified lawyer briefed on the issue, reported that Greg Anderson's wife received a "target letter" from federal prosecutors in November, shortly after Bonds was indicted on perjury charges for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The newspaper identified Anderson's wife as Nicole Gestas. She is reportedly under investigation for conspiracy.

Legal experts said the letter is an indication that prosecutors are attempting to ratchet up the pressure on Anderson to cooperate with the government's investigation of Bonds, who is scheduled to stand trial in March.

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