Turner breaks wrist
Nats catalyst is out indefinitly
The Washington Nationals lost more than another ninth-inning lead on Thursday as they fell 5-4 to the Chicago Cubs.
Nats leadoff man Trea Turner, who leads the majors in stolen bases with 35 after swiping two in the game, suffered a broken right wrist when he was hit by a pitch from Cubs reliever Pedro Strop in the seventh inning.
Turner left the game immediately for X-rays that revealed the fracture. It’s not known how much time he’ll miss. Stephen Drew came in to play shortstop and will likely take over while Turner is out.
Manager Dusty Baker wasn’t around to see the play, having been ejected an inning earlier for arguing a strikeout by Ryan Raburn that appeared to be a foul ball.
“When I looked at it, it wasn’t swollen or whatever so I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad sign,” Baker said.
Braves cut Colon: Right-hander Bartolo Colon was designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, one day after the 44-year-old right-hander dropped to 2-8.
Pitching for the first time since going on the disabled list with a strained left oblique on June 6, Colon allowed six runs, eight hits and three walks in four innings in during Wednesday night’s 7-4 loss at San Diego.
Colon has an 8.14 ERA in 13 starts, unable to find the form that earned him an AL Cy Young Award winner and made him a 235-game winner.
“The reality is that I’ve been getting hit hard and that’s the truth and you can’t dance around it,” Colon said through a translator after his latest loss.
Unless Colon is traded or claimed on waivers, the Braves would be responsible for the remainder of his $12.5 million salary. If he is released and signs with another team, the new club would be responsible for only a prorated share of the $535,000 minimum.
Colon’s successful run with the New York Mets from 2014-16 helped affirm his status as one of the game’s most durable and popular players. He began his career with Cleveland in 1997 and won his Cy Young Award with the Angels in 2005.
Colon is a four-time allstar, most recently with the Mets last year, when he won 15 games with a 3.43 ERA.
Schilling rips ESPN, hints of presidential run: Former pitcher Curt Schilling, now a radio host at Breitbart News, lashed out at ESPN and discussed his political aspirations in an interview with Esquire published Thursday.
Schilling argued that ESPN, his former employer, painted him as a racist, and said he wants to be “bigger than Sean Hannity” in his new career as a right-wing political voice on his show, Whatever It
Takes. He even hinted at a possible presidential run.
Schilling has expressed his desire to possibly run against Sen. Elizabeth Warren, DMass., in 2018. Schilling, also discussed a somewhat serious inclination to run for president in 2024.