Scottsdale, Ariz. —It’s March 9 and the season-opener is still 28 days away, but Monday’s Cactus League game was a big deal for Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. Neither of the Rockies’ stars had played since last summer — Tulo’s last game was July 19 at Pittsburgh and CarGo’s last was Aug. 8 at Arizona — and both were coming off surgeries. Tulo had his left hip labrum repaired, while Gonzalez had surgery to repair the patella tendon in his left knee.
Neither did much in their three innings on the field. Tulo went 0-for-2 and CarGo 0-for-1 with a walk, but just being back on the field mattered by much. The Rockies, for the record were tied with the Cincinnati Reds 2-2 midway through the ninth inning.
Rockies teammates Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki were back on the field together again on Monday at Salt River Fields. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)
“It was nice to put back on the uniform and get back into the game mode,” Tulowitzki said. “I think I turn into a different person.”
Gonzalez said: “I felt really good. 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.”
Hits
* Lefty reliever Rex Brothers, making his Cactus League debut, cruised through the sixth inning on just eight pitches. He struck out Brandon Phillips, was saved when left fielder Kyle Parker crashed into the left-field corner wall to make a great catch, and then induced Jesse Winker to ground out to first. Brothers’ fastball topped out at 95 mph and he threw a tight slider.
* Gonzalez made the very first play of the game, running in on a slicer 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 with a laugh. “It’s like your first game in Little League; you know that first ball is going to you. But I had a really good feeling. This was one of my goals when I had my surgery … thinking about this day and playing baseball again.”
Misses
* Starter Jordan Lyles wasn’t particularly sharp, allowing two runs (one earned) in his two innings. The right-hander pitched a clean first inning, though the Reds hit the ball hard. A one-out walk to Marlon Byred, followed by consecutive singles by Donald Lutz and Eugenio Suarez got him in trouble in the second.
* Tulo struck out looking in the first and popped out to the catcher with two on in the third. That did not sit well with him.
“I’m sitting right here and I’m (ticked) that I didn’t get the guy in,” he said. “I expect more out of myself than popping out to the catcher in that situation. That’s me. You work hard to put yourslef in that situation.”
* Second baseman Daniel Descalso let a harder grounder by Tucker Barnhart eat him up in the second, leading to a Reds’ run.
Up Next
Tuesday is a split-squad day for the Rockies. The Rockies host the Mariners in a 1:10 p.m. game at Salt River Fields. Right-hander Kyle Kendrick starts for the Rockies opposite Seattle right-hander Felix Hernandez. Other Rockies scheduled to pitch are: RHP Jair Jurrjens, RHP LaTroy Hawkins, RHP John Axford, LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Justin Miller and RHP Rafael Betancourt.
Another squad travels to Glendale to face the Dodgers. Right-hander Eddie Butler starts for the Rockies vs. Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw.
Tags: Carlos Gonzalez, Kyle Parker, Rex Brothers, Troy Tulowitzki
