SAN DIEGO — Troy Tulowitzki raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He couldn’t exactly explain what happened.
“Honestly, I couldn’t tell you,” the all-star shortstop said. “Usually you don’t get a ball hit like that to you, where it turns you around. You have to roll with it.”
Friday night in the third inning, Tulowitzki darted toward third to spear a hard groundball from Justin Upton. What he did next was … unusual, to say the least. Tulowitzki jumped clockwise from his left foot, turning toward the outfield.
That forced him to throw the ball to second base away from his momentum — spinning right while throwing left.
“I was trying to get low to see it, but my body was in an awkward position. It’s the only thing I could have done,” he said. “I was already turning that way, and my body just kept going. I wasn’t trying to get a double play, I just wanted to get it to DJ (second baseman LeMahieu) for an out. He did a good job.”
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The Rockies turned a double play to end the frame. But they went on to lose 4-2.
“It’s hard for me to remember seeing anybody who’s ever done that,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “And Tulo was like, ‘I don’t know why I did that.’ That was an amazing play. It was very unorthodox.”
If his spin-throw was unusual, Tulowitzki’s hitting surge through June and July is not. He had reached base safely in 39 games in a row, the longest active streak in baseball and the fourth-longest in Rockies history.
Dickerson to rehab games. Corey Dickerson (left foot plantar fasciitis) will start a minor-league rehab assignment “in the next day or two,” Weiss said. The left fielder will play Sunday at Single-A Modesto. He took test flyballs and played long-toss in the outfield at Petco Park on Saturday.
Footnotes. Closer John Axford was not with the team Friday for its first game after the all-star break. He was tending to family issues. He returned Saturday. … Tyler Chatwood (Tommy John surgery) has stopped throwing as part of his rehab schedule. But he’s near pitching in live situations. “When we rev him back up, we’re going to talk about him throwing to hitters,” Weiss said. … San Diego experienced a rare hard rain shower through most of Saturday morning and early afternoon. “We can make it rain anywhere,” Weiss said. But the Rockies and Padres avoided adding to their weather delay count, which is at more than 21 hours this season.
Rockies’ Eddie Butler (3-6, 4.80 ERA) at Padres’ Andrew Cashner (3-10, 4.10), 2:10 p.m. Sunday, ROOT; 850 AM
Butler’s stat line this season covers 11 starts into early June after he broke spring camp with the Rockies. He received a spot on the roster in part because of the unexpected dismissal of Jhoulys Chacin. After Butler gave up 11 hits to the Marlins on June 5, the Rockies sent him to Triple-A to work on his off-speed pitches. He has pitched once this season at San Diego, allowing five runs (three earned) and four hits in four innings of the Rockies’ 14-3 loss May 1. His best outing of the year came May 30 at Philadelphia, where he pitched six innings, allowing one run and four hits. But he has not pitched into the seventh inning yet.
Monday: Rangers’ TBA at Rockies’ Chris Rusin (3-3, 3.98 ERA), 6:40 p.m., ROOT
Tuesday: Rangers’ Matt Harrison (0-1, 13.50) at Rockies’ Kyle Kendrick (3-10, 5.94), 6:40 p.m., ROOT
Wednesday: Rangers’ Martin Perez (0-1, 5.40) at Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (6-4, 4.30), 1:10 p.m., no TV
