Catch the daily spring training roundup each afternoon from Rockies beat writers Troy E. Renck and Patrick Saunders in Tucson. You’ll find insider information on players and what the team is working on as they get ready for the 2007 season. Check every afternoon for the Rockies Rundown.
Today’s checkup finds the Rockies on the mend.
Todd Helton’s sore right knee – he says it’s much ado about nothing – healed enough to allow him to start this afternoon’s game against the Royals.
And shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s injured right wrist turned out to be bruised but not broken. A wicked fastball from Padres pitcher Doug Brocail put Tulowitzki on the ground Saturday.
“I was scared,” Tulowitzki said this morning. “Supposedly there is a nerve that runs through to your two fingers, and both my pinky and ring finger were very numb. I didn’t have feeling in them for quite some time, so I was very nervous. And things started coming to my mind, but as I calmed down, things started coming back into place.”
Lost in the injury shuffle is the status of first base and outfield coach Glenallen Hill. He was struck in the elbow by a vicious line drive during Friday’s game in Peoria, Ariz. He’s still outfitted with an ice pack and is scheduled for X-rays on Monday.
Inside the game
For what it’s worth, starter Rodrigo Lopez, roughed up in Saturday’s split-squad game against the Padres, claims all he had to do was make simple adjustments to get his game back on track.
“(Catcher) Yorvit Torrealba moved his target a little bit lower and that seemed to help a lot,” Lopez said this morning. “I retired seven batters in a row after that, with two strikeouts.”
Lopez, the Rockies’ likely third starter, got hammered by the Padres before settling down. He yielded six earned runs in four innings and Terrmel Sledge and Josh Bard both homered off him.
“I’m not worried about that,” Lopez said. “I think I read the batters pretty good. I think I made the right adjustments.”
By the numbers: Six
That’s the stolen base count for center fielder Willy Taveras, through the fourth inning of today’s game. He’s only been thrown out once. Taveras entered today’s game hitting .353.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
