Rockies rest Tulowitzki in series opener
Team has plan to rest oft-injured shortstop regularly throughout season
DENVER -- Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki met briefly in the early afternoon with manager Walt Weiss and learned he was not going to be in the starting lineup against the Giants in the opener of a three-game series.
It's all part of the Rockies' plan to give Tulowitzki, who has a history of leg injuries, regular rest in hopes he'll stay healthy. Weiss said his decisions on when to rest Tulowitzki, who has played just 264 games from 2012-14, are "a collaborative effort," and he opted to rest him Friday night.
"I wanted to have him down one day this series," Weiss said. "He played a day game after a night game yesterday. This gives him more time before he's back out there. It was either going to be today or Sunday. I decided on today."
This planned day off came after Tulowitzki started 10 straight games dating from April 13. He had started all but one of the Rockies' first 16 games and went 0-for-4 Thursday for the first time since July 12, 2014. Tulowitzki has three hits in his past 17 at-bats with five strikeouts, including two in each of his past two games.
Entering Friday, Tulowitzki was hitting .300 (18-for-60) with a team-leading nine doubles, one homer and eight RBIs. He had a .306 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage.
In Friday night's game, Tulowitzki came in as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the seventh. Giants right-hander Yusmeiro Petit got Tulowitzki to pop out to second baseman Joe Panik to end the frame.