Bautista’s shoulder is just fine, thank you

Two stunning throws Tuesday against the Yankees proof Jays outfielder has healed

Between 2010 and 2014, Jose Bautista threw out 56 base-runners from right field — more than any other outfielder except perennial Gold Glover Alex Gordon.

This year, however, that aspect of Bautista’s game has been largely absent, or at least it had been prior to Tuesday night, when Bautista threw out a pair of Yankee runners in the late innings to save two potential runs. Ultimately the plays were made in a losing cause, as the Jays lost in extra innings, but they would never have made it that far without Bautista’s high-powered marksmanship.

Before Tuesday’s game, Bautista had just two outfield assists — by far the lowest total of his career. His arm strength had been largely sapped by an injury to his throwing shoulder suffered in mid-April on an ill-advised throw to first during a testy game with the Baltimore Orioles. Bautista never went on the disabled list, but he did not play the outfield for nearly six weeks, serving strictly as the Jays’ DH.

On Tuesday it certainly looked like the injury was well behind him, but Bautista said Wednesday while his shoulder is feeling “much better” than it was earlier in the season, it’s still not 100 per cent healed.

“I don’t expect it to be 100 per cent until spring training of next year, but I feel good enough where I could make some pretty good throws. That was the result of it (Tuesday) night. I felt good about them when I made ’em, it ended up working out for us.”

Bautista said he has been “cautiously aggressive” with his throws this season, but Tuesday was a day where he felt he could air it out. He said it was just a coincidence it came in two key spots in one of the team’s biggest games of the year.

Bautista wouldn’t say whether he thought the throws would discourage others from testing his arm.

“I’d rather not toot my own horn.” TULO MAKING PROGRESS: Troy Tulowitzki, the Jays’ injured shortstop, continues to make progress in his return from the cracked scapula and bruised back muscles he suffered in a collision with Kevin Pillar on Sept. 12 in New York.

Tulowitzki played catch with David Price before Wednesday’s game — under the watchful eye of Jays trainer George Poulis — and took ground balls for the second day in a row. He also took “a few swings” off a tee, manager John Gibbons said.

Gibbons said Tulowitzki is “excited” by his progress, but a timeline for his return remains unclear. ROTATION SHUFFLE: Gibbons said Wednesday he was shuffling his starting rotation to keep ace lefty Da- vid Price pitching on regular rest and to line him up to start the one-game wild-card playoff, should that be necessary.

So after Thursday’s off-day, R.A. Dickey will open the series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, with Price going Saturday and Mark Buehrle pitching on Sunday. BARNEY’S FIRST START: Darwin Barney, the infielder the Jays acquired from the L.A. Dodgers in a minor deal following Tulowitzki’s injury, got his first starting assignment in Toronto on Wednesday, playing second base and batting ninth.

It was just the second start of the season for the 2012 Gold Glove winner, who has spent most of this season with the Dodgers’ Triple-A club.