SAN FRANCISCO -- Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki limped off the field in the bottom of the first inning of Tuesday night's game with the Giants, leaving the Rockies having to piece together an infield with catcher Chris Iannetta playing third base.
Tulowitzki was first injured when he fielded Eugenio Velez's bouncer and threw to first, where Todd Helton let the ball pop out of his glove for an error. Tulowitzki appeared to be favoring his left leg, but he stayed in the game.
Three batters later, however, Tulowitzki pulled up while going for Aaron Rowan's bouncer and let the ball go into the outfield for an RBI single that gave the Giants a 2-1 lead. Tulowitzki left the game with a strained left quad (he's listed as day-to-day), and the Rockies scrambled.
Tulowitzki entered Tuesday in a slump that left his average at .152 and wasn't supposed to start the game.
The only other infielder on the roster, Jeff Baker, was going to play second base and Clint Barmes was supposed to start at shortstop. However, Baker suffered a broken blood vessel in his right middle finger during pregame activities and was scratched minutes before the first pitch, forcing Barmes to move to second and Tulowitzki to start at short.
After the injury, Iannetta came in at third for the first time in his career in the Majors or Minors. Barmes moved to short and third baseman Garrett Atkins played second, also for the first time in his career.
Iannetta celebrated his new position by leading off the top of the second inning with a home run to center field off Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum to tie the game.
Also check out RMN blog:
Read about the game and injuries here
