MINNEAPOLIS — Jim Tracy was knocking on wood, in this case his desk in the visiting manager’s office at Target Field.
“We feel like we dodged a pretty serious bullet there,” Tracy said. “I don’t know where he’s going to be (today), but I imagine he’ll be pretty sore.”
That would be Troy Tulowitzki, who was plunked on the left wrist Thursday by rookie Alex Burnett. Tulowitzki left the game after scoring on Ryan Spilborghs’ two-run homer in the eighth and underwent a fluoroscopy imaging exam.
The test came up negative, but Tulowitzki will have an X-ray today.
“It’s just normal hit-by-a- pitch soreness,” Tulowitzki said. “We’ll see how it feels in the morning.”
Rolling the dice.
Tracy gambled by using Chris Iannetta in the DH role for the first time in his career. If Miguel Olivo had gotten hurt, Iannetta would have moved behind the plate and the pitcher would have been forced into the DH spot.
Why did Tracy do it? Two reasons. The Rockies were struggling big-time, witness their 13 strikeouts Wednesday. Then there was the matter of the .175 (11-for-63) batting average Twins starter Francisco Liriano had allowed to left-handed hitters.
So it was that Tracy moved Spilborghs to the cleanup spot for the ninth time in his career, dropping Brad Hawpe to No. 7. So what happens? Spilborghs homers to center.
U the Man.
Ubaldo Jimenez, according to STATS Inc., is the third pitcher since 1932 to win 13 of his first 14 starts. Roger Clemens was 13-0 through 14 starts in 1986, and Lefty Gomez of the ’32 Yankees was 13-1. As for Jimenez’s ERA, it’s the lowest after 14 starts since Detroit’s Al Benton stood at 0.91 in 1945.
Footnotes.
Spilborghs’ homer was his fourth in eight games. . . . Carlos Gonzalez left the game with a left knee contusion, but the injury isn’t believed to be serious. . . . Right-hander Taylor Buchholz and lefty Jorge De La Rosa are scheduled to throw another round of live batting practice Saturday.
