PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks ace Curt Schilling has a broken right hand, another in a string of injuries for the two-time defending NL West champions.
Schilling was injured when he was hit in the hand twice last Friday in San Diego. He stayed in the game after Ramon Vazquez's comebacker hit him on the index finger on the opening pitch, but left the game after Sean Burroughs' line drive hit him on the back of the right hand with two outs in the seventh inning.
Burroughs' hit did the damage, Schilling said.
An emergency room doctor said that X-rays were negative. However, the hand did not improve and trainer Paul Lessard said a spot on the X-ray was suspicious, so a followup MRI was taken Tuesday. It uncovered a hairline fracture and a bone chip in the third and fourth metacarpals.
"Over the last 72 hours, I told him (Lessard) something just wasn't right," Schilling said. "The swelling wasn't going away. It was not getting better. It was probably getting worse. Today, I didn't expect a break. I was a little concerned there might be some kind of ligament damage."
Schilling will be placed in a removable splint for three weeks before he can begin rehabilitation throwing. Lessard would not speculate when Schilling might return, but manager Bob Brenly said it could be right after the All-Star break.
He didn't expect two broken bones, though. Schilling said he hadn't broken any bones since high school, but simply had to deal with reality.
"I don't have a choice. It's broke. I can't change that," Schilling said. "I've got to do whatever I can do to get better. In the meantime, I've got to be a teammate and help these guys and do whatever I can with these young pitchers and hopefully we can stay close."