The sixth-inning collision between George Bell and Shawon Dunston looked worse than it was.
The accident occurred in front of the Cubs` bullpen on a sixth-inning pop fly off the bat of Marquis Grissom. Dunston caught the ball. Bell caught the back of Dunston`s head with his chin.
Dunston came away with a nasty knot and a splitting headache. Bell bruised and scraped his chin and chipped a filling, head trainer John Fierro said. Bell will visit the dentist Friday morning and could miss Friday`s game.
”I was camped right under the ball,” said Dunston, who stayed in the game and had his fourth hit after the accident. ”I didn`t hear (Bell coming). I try to catch everything.”
Manager Jim Essian wouldn`t blame either player. ”Two players going after the same ball, you get both of them yelling,” he said. ”It`s hard to hear out there sometimes.”
Bell had left the ballpark by the end of the game and wasn`t available for comment.
Sign language: If Bell and Dunston had trouble hearing each other, Luis Salazar and Joe Girardi had trouble communicating with signs. Girardi gave Salazar the ”stay up” sign as he neared home plate on Dunston`s single in the third, but Salazar slowed just enough to be tossed out on a strong peg by ex-Cub Davey Martinez.
The blunder killed a rally against shaky starter Chris Haney and left Essian shaking his head.
Smith update: Dave Smith`s recovery from surgery on his right knee is progressing, but the Cubs say they don`t expect him back for at least 10 days. ”It`s not imminent,” Fierro said. ”He still needs to build strength, which leads to stability. Right now, he`s only thrown once off a mound. He`s got to throw off the mound again, throw batting practice, and maybe even a simulated game.”
Good ”D”: The Cubs have maintained their pace to set a club record for fewest errors in a season. Through Thursday they have 76 errors in 113 games, a pace for 109. The club record is 115, set in 1983.
