Blue Jays, Tulowitzki dodge bullet
Shortstop nailed on hand by wayward Colon pitch, X-rays reveal just bone bruise
DUNEDIN— That four-letter word which clearly issued from Troy Tulowitzki’s mouth after he was plonked on the right hand by a pitch? Echoed in the Blue Jays’ dugout. Good news Part I: The pitch was “hurled” by New York Mets starter Bartolo Colon, so not a hard smack; in the low 80s.
Good news Part II: X-rays revealed a bone bruise on the knuckles of his first and second fingers. Nothing broken. Day-to-day.
Another four-letter word from manager John Gibbons: Whew. Skipper’s heart had skipped a beat. “Oh yeah. He’s a big part of this. You get those sensitive areas of the hand, all those small bones, it definitely makes you a bit nervous.”
Gibbons got only a brief glance at the damage before Tulowitzki departed for hospital.
“It was swollen, cut up a little bit too. Hopefully nothing.”
Close enough for everybody to heave a sigh of relief. The shortstop, who ran halfway down to first in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game against the New York Mets before veering off for medical attention, did not reappear later to answer questions from reporters.
The Blue Jays have steered clear of freaky injuries at this spring training, apart from the strained back Marco Estrada brought to camp with him, result of a martial arts move — the Dragon Flag — he’d attempted while training. Dumb move.
At the other end of the ready-torock spectrum is Aaron Sanchez, who arrived washboard-hardened, muscled up and gunning for that fifth starter job. On Wednesday, in his fifth appearance, third start, he was smoking hot — albeit against a lineup that featured only three Mets regulars. Fastball hitting 99 m.p.h. on the radar gun, secondary pitches displayed nicely. He became the first Toronto moundsman to go six frames, laying down a two-hit four strikeout beauty that loudly declared: Gimme.
Sanchez is vying for the starter gig with Gavin Floyd. The crowd gave Sanchez a standing ovation as the 23-year-old exited.
“I don’t know how you can be any better, really,” observed an impressed Gibbons of his strapping right-hander, following Toronto’s 3-1 win on a three-run walk-off homer by Ezequiel Carrera.
Maybe most pleasing were the curveballs Sanchez spotted.
“The first time this spring, it was missing,” said Gibbons. “It was bouncing a lot. He’s found that groove. That’s really what we’re looking for.”
Sanchez used it with authority to punch out Marc Krauss, ending the fourth inning. “I didn’t throw it that much. But they knew it was there. Got a couple of strikeouts on it.”
There aren’t many debates to be resolved down here. But Sanchez vs. Floyd is the most intriguing on-going battle. “The talk has been an awful lot about me and him,” said Sanchez, who has raised his bona fides in his last two outings.
“I came into sprain training ready to go, I knew what I needed to do. It’s progressing as the workload on the field continues.”
Stretched out to 70 pitches now. “I’m in a perfect place.”
Whether he’s convinced the eyeballs that count is another matter.
Edge to Sanchez? “It is what it is. I’m going to go out there and do my thing.” Housemate Marcus Stroman — named opening day starter Wednesday — is indisputably in his corner.
“Sanchez has been throwing the ball unbelievably well. It’s been a great competition for the fifth spot. Obviously, I’m a little bit biased.”
“You get those sensitive areas of the hand, all those small bones, it definitely makes you a bit nervous.” JAYS MANAGER JOHN GIBBONS ON TROY TULOWITZKI