SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Troy Tulowitzki was ticked off at himself, and Carlos Gonzalez was smiling like a Little Leaguer.
In other words, the Rockies’ two biggest stars were back to their normal selves during a Cactus League game against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday at Salt River Fields.
“That’s the first mental hurdle you have to get over after you have missed a lot of time as a player,” manager Walt Weiss said after the game ended in a 2-2 tie. “Yes, it’s just a spring training game, but it’s more than that.”
Tulowitzki, who had not played a game since July 19 because of a hip injury, was in emotional midseason form, angry that he fouled out to catcher Tucker Barnhart with two on base in the third inning.
“I’m sitting right here and I’m (ticked) that I didn’t get the guy in,” Tulo said in the Rockies’ clubhouse after his three-inning stint was over. “I expect more out of myself than popping out to the catcher in that situation. That’s me.”
CarGo made the first play of the game, running in on a slicing liner into shallow right field off the bat of Kristopher Negron. CarGo, his left knee fully healed, glided to the ball and made a tough catch look easy.
“I knew that was going to happen,” he said. “It’s like your first ball in a Little League game; you know that first ball is going to you. But I had a really good feeling being out there. This was one of my goals when I had my surgery … thinking about this day and playing baseball again.”
Gonzalez, who played in just 70 games last season because of a tumor in his finger and severe patella tendinitis in his left knee, had not played in a game since Aug. 8.
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“I felt really good,” he said after going 0-for-1 with a walk in his two at-bats. “I was a little anxious at first, but I kind of let it go after that. The most important thing was that I was pain free.”
Weiss had not expected the duo to play in a spring game for at least another week.
“Yeah, it’s sooner than I thought it would be when I was sitting around thinking about it this winter,” he said.
Weiss will still keep a close watch on both players this spring, and he will monitor Tulowitzki closely during the regular season as well.
“A lot of it comes down to common sense. It’s not rocket science,” Weiss said. “If you have a day game after a night game, then that’s an easy call. Sometimes his body language tells me he needs a day. It’s been pretty easy to have a feel for that.”
Both players began simulated game drills last week — running out of the box to first, sliding into second and rounding bases. Once they passed that test, they were cleared to play.
Tulowitzki said he is not going to play cautiously this spring. If there is a play to be made, he’s going to go for it.
“I’m going to do it, because I’ve got to do it just to get it out of my head,” he said. “So there is no doubt that once the opportunity presents itself, I just want to be a baseball player out there. I want to go with my instincts and not take it easy. I think when you take it easy, you get into a little bit of trouble.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or
