COLORADO SPRINGS — Troy Tulowitzki took a positive view of his immediate and distant future Wednesday night after his first rehabilitation assignment with the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
The Rockies shortstop, on the disabled list while recovering from a broken bone in his left wrist, played the first five innings of the Sky Sox’s 8-1 loss to Sacramento in a Pacific Coast League game.
“I got to catch a line drive hit right at me, face some good pitches thrown hard. It was a night where I got to see a lot, and that was awesome,” Tulowitzki said.
Tulowitzki was playing in his first game since mid-June, when he was hit by a pitch against the Minnesota Twins. He went on the disabled list June 18.
Tulowitzki was involved in a variety of tasks in the infield and at the plate. Besides the line drive that was turned into a double play, he went into short left field to catch a high flyball, fielded a groundball near second base and made the throw to first base, and made the relay throw to first on a double-play groundball to second base.
At the plate, he hit a looping line drive to right for a hit in his first at-bat and sent a sharp groundball over the pitcher’s mound that was turned into a double play by the Sacramento shortstop.
“I feel great tonight,” Tulo-witzki said when asked about his immediate future in terms of returning to the Rockies’ lineup Tuesday. “I still have three or four more rehab games, and there are some things that could happen that would make it longer than Tuesday. But I’ve done everything I possibly could do to return as quickly as I can.”
The plan is for Tulowitzki to play seven innings today for the Sky Sox, then go to Double-A Tulsa. There, he will pinch hit Friday, followed by back-to-back nine innings of work and a pinch-hit appearance Monday.
If all goes well, he could be back in the Colorado lineup Tuesday against Pittsburgh at Coors Field, the Rockies’ first game back after their 11-game road trip.
Tulowitzki wore a protective pad on his left wrist Wednesday and said he has some discomfort at times.
Going on the disabled list came at a bad time for Tulo-witzki. In addition to being sidelined with the Rockies in a race to catch the San Diego Padres in the National League West, he couldn’t play in his first All-Star Game.
Although the injury kept him from playing, he took a positive view of the future.
“I wasn’t able to play (for the NL all-stars), but I got to go and experience that and just to be there was awesome,” Tulowitzki said. “I’ll take my chances that I’ll be at a couple more in my career.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
