Charlie Blackmon is making his first big-league visit to his home state of Georgia, which means one word: tickets. He needs tickets.
“There are probably going to be 15 or 20 of my high school buddies, then some buddies from junior college, then my friends from Georgia Tech and then almost my whole family,” said Blackmon, the Rockies’ rookie left fielder who grew up in Warwick, Ga., and was a big Braves fan. Tonight, he’ll try to beat them as a Rockie.
“It’ll be nice to see everybody, but I’ve still got to focus and play some baseball,” said Blackmon, who is hitting .280 with one home run and seven RBIs in 82 at-bats.
Most of Blackmon’s family and friends knew him as a pitcher growing up. It’s the position at which he was drafted, in fact, by Boston in the 20th round in 2005.
Stults recalled.
Left-hander Eric Stults, recalled in time for Sunday’s game from Colorado Springs, was pressed into duty right away in relief of starter Jason Hammel.
Stults, 31, pitched with the Dodgers from 2006-09, mostly as a starter. He went 8-10 with a 4.86 ERA for the Dodgers, and was 4-4 with a 5.21 ERA with the Sky Sox.
“I’m still getting used to coming out of the bullpen. But I think I’m learning how to adjust, and happy to get a chance to come here and pitch,” Stults said.
Stults pitched last season as a starter for Hiroshima of the Japanese League.
“I enjoyed my experience in Japan. It’s different. You only pitch once a week over there. You’re used to having a lot of days off,” Stults said. “Baseball is just huge over there. It’s almost like they worship the game over there. It’s fun.”
Footnotes.
Troy Tulowitzki will receive a $25,000 bonus as part of his contract for making the National League all-star team. . . . Todd Helton entered the game hitting .323, the third-highest average of any first baseman in the big leagues, behind Adrian Gonzalez (.353) and Miguel Cabrera (.329). . . . The Rockies are 56-37 in interleague play since 2006. . . . Sunday was Family Day at Coors Field. Players’ wives and children commingled on the field before the game.
