On a day of bad health news for some big name pitchers, the Arizona Diamondbacks said Randy Johnson has a herniated disk in his surgically repaired back and the Red Sox sent Curt Schilling back to Boston to have a shoulder scan.
Dodgers pitcher Jason Schmidt, a big-money free agent signing, will have shoulder surgery Wednesday in Los Angeles. And the Toronto Blue Jays put A.J. Burnett, one of their big acquisitions before the 2006 season, on the disabled list because of shoulder pain.
Johnson visited with Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles on Monday, seven days after Johnson went on the 15-day disabled list with a tight glute.
"He does have a bulge in there, a herniation," manager Bob Melvin said before the Diamondbacks played Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. "Obviously not the news we want to hear, yet he thinks he is healthy enough to go ahead and prepare for his next start. When that is, we're obviously not sure."
The 43-year-old left-hander had back surgery last October. The Diamondbacks acquired him in a trade with the New York Yankees in January, and he opened the season on the disabled list.
Johnson is 4-2 with a 3.52 ERA in nine starts, and he has 70 strikeouts and 11 walks in 53 2-3 innings.
"I won't back away," said Johnson, who also had a back operation 11 years ago. "I'm eager to still pitch. I've tackled this twice before."
Schilling nearly pitched a no-hitter at Oakland on June 7, giving up a two-out single to Shannon Stewart in the ninth inning. But the 40-year-old right-hander hasn't looked the same in his last two outings, surrendering 11 earned runs and 19 hits in 9 1-3 innings. He was hit hard Monday night by the Atlanta Braves, who said Schilling lacked his usual velocity in a 9-4 loss.
Taking no chances, the first-place Red Sox sent Schilling back to Boston to get checked out by the team's medical director, Dr. Thomas J. Gill.
"The ball didn't come out of his hand too well," manager Terry Francona said. "He didn't complain of pain or anything. The ball just wasn't coming out."
Schilling, 14th on the career strikeout list with 3,086, failed to fan anyone Monday night - the first time that's happened in one of his starts since 1993. The right-hander is 6-4 with a 4.20 ERA.
"It's embarrassing," Schilling said. "I never gave us a chance. You want to walk around the room and apologize to everybody - your manager, your teammates, fans. There's no excuse for a game like that."
Schmidt was scheduled to be operated on by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who examined the pitcher Monday. The Dodgers said it's uncertain when Schmidt will be able to return to the mound.
