Tulowitzki re-injures groin after hitting HR for Sky Sox
Troy Tulowitzki was supposed to play five innings with the Sky Sox. He lasted only three innings because he got hurt. And now, there’s no timetable for his return to the Rockies.
The two-time All-Star shortstop hammered a two-run home run and ripped a single in his only at-bats of a major-league rehabilitation stint Wednesday before taking himself out in the third inning during a 13-5 defeat against the Reno Aces at Security Service Field.
Tulowitzki experienced some discomfort in the strained left groin that forced him onto the 15-day disabled list May 31, while he prepared to tag up from first base on a sacrifice fly to center field by Andrew Brown. He motioned to the Sky Sox dugout for a pinch runner, then he headed off the field with trainers. He left without speaking with the media, and Tulowitzki was slated to be evaluated after Rockies team pictures in Denver.
“It scared him,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy told The Denver Post. “So we took all precautions. I don’t think it’s serious, but I don’t know when he will resume his rehab or join us.”
Plans called for Tulowitzki – the leader in All-Star voting among NL shortstops – to see how he felt after Wednesday’s game, with the possibility of rejoining the Rockies in Detroit on Friday, when he’s eligible to come off the disabled list. At worst, Tulowitzki would have accompanied the Sky Sox to Las Vegas on a four-game road trip that begins Thursday. Neither is likely to happen. Who knows exactly how long he’ll be sidelined?
It marked the third time that Tulowitzki, 27, has appeared in Colorado Springs, as he also came here on rehab assignments in 2008 and 2010. He wore his No. 2, getting the jersey on loan from Hernan Iribarren, who switched to No. 21, and he kept his Rockies batting helmet. Plus, he signed autographs for eager fans camped out next to the Sky Sox dugout, and the crowd of 4,535 was much larger than the Sky Sox typically draw for a day game.
Hitting third in the order, Tulowitzki blasted a 3-1 pitch from Diamondbacks top prospect Trevor Bauer (4-0) over the left-field fence in his first at-bat, and when he stepped to the plate again, he again solved Bauer. A 4-0 lead by the Sky Sox (30-36) vanished, as Reno (40-27) roughed up Drew Pomeranz (2-4) and totaled 17 hits, scoring 12 runs in the fifth through the seventh. The Sky Sox made four errors, including two by Brendan Harris.
Tulowitzki pounded the ball off Sky Sox manager Stu Cole in the batting cage before the game, and he maneuvered well at shortstop, however, no ground balls were hit to him, and he didn’t have to run the bases. He has been out of action since May 30, when the groin injury that he suffered in the first series of the season was aggravated. He’s hitting .287 with 27 RBIs, and all-time with the Sky Sox, he’s 6-for-13 with three RBIs and four runs.
Contact Brian Gomez: 719-636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazettedev.gazette.com. Facebook: Brian Gomez. Twitter: @gazetteskysox. Google+: Brian Gomez. For the Sky Sox homepage, visit http://www.gazettedev.gazette.com/sections/roxsox. For the Sky Sox blog, visit http://skysox.freedomblogging.com.
Troy Tulowitzki rounds the bases while blowing a bubble gum bubble and is congratulated by Sky Sox manager Stu Cole after he hit a home run in his first at-bat in the game. Tulowitzki was rehabbing with the Sky Sox and left after three innings on Wednesday, June 12, 2012. Photo by JERILEE BENNETT/THE GAZETTE
Colorado Rockies Troy Tulowitzki signs autographs for fans before the Sky Sox game on Wednesday, June 12, 2012. Photo by JERILEE BENNETT/THE GAZETTE
