Venezuelans hail their seven wonders
Carlos Zambrano didn’t know he was part of a historic night for his native Venezuela until after he pitched.
That did nothing to dampen the effect the news had on him.
Zambrano was one of seven Venezuelan pitchers that started in the major leagues Tuesday, setting a record for the baseball-crazed South American country where the achievement was heralded as a sign of its growing presence in the game.
“That’s amazing,” Zambrano said after allowing one run and four hits in six innings of the Chicago Cubs’ 2-1 loss in Los Angeles.
“That proves that Venezuela has a lot of players good enough to be in the major leagues,” he said. “I’m very proud for my country, for all those people who are playing in the major leagues from Venezuela.”
Tony Armas Jr. and Gustavo Chacin got the ball for Washington and Toronto, respectively. New York Mets right-hander Victor Zambrano struggled in a loss to Atlanta. The Angels-Twins game featured two Venezuelan pitchers: Minnesota right-hander Carlos Silva and Los Angeles right-hander Kelvim Escobar.
Felix Hernandez of Seattle also started.
The seven pitchers got a lot of attention in Venezuela, where the country’s sports daily Meridiano said it showed the growth of the country’s baseball talent. “Lucky seven,” the paper said. “The seven wonders of the world.”
The previous record for Venezuela was five starters on August 17, 2004, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Escobar and both Zambranos, who are not related, also pitched then, along with Freddy Garcia of the Chicago White Sox and Wilson Alvarez of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Gerut hearing today
Pittsburgh general manager Dave Littlefield will attend an arbitrator’s hearing today on outfielder Jody Gerut’s injury grievance.
The Pirates put Gerut on the minor league suspended list last week after he declined to report to Triple-A Indianapolis, citing a right knee injury.
As a result, the Pirates aren’t paying him his $875,000 salary and are declining to pay any travel expenses involved with the surgery he plans to have. The team claims Gerut is healthy enough to play and that he said nothing about being hurt until after being demoted late in spring training.
Clearing the bases
The Los Angeles Angels placed right-hander Bartolo Colon, the A.L.’s reigning Cy Young Award winner, on the DL with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. … Kansas City pitcher Zack Greinke, who left the team in spring training on Feb. 25 and went to his home in Florida, has reported to the team’s extended spring training in Surprise, Ariz. … The Texas Rangers placed second baseman Mark DeRosa on the 15-day disabled list. … The Baltimore Orioles optioned outfielder Val Majewski to Triple-A Ottawa, placed outfielder Luis Matos on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of outfielder Luis Terrero.