Sunday Bantering: Sanchez “Encouraged” by First Bullpen Session Since Injury

Troy Tulowitzki has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained hamstring, the Associated Press reports. Tulowitzki initially left Friday night/morning’s game in the eighth inning after moving to third base on a wild pitch. Tulowitzki joins Josh Donaldson, Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ on the 10-day disabled list.

"I definitely wasn’t in a position to help us if I had to tag up or score," Tulowitzki told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. "Tight. Knew I needed to get out before I further injured myself. I’m sore. Come to the locker room (Saturday), talk to the trainers, see what we got and decide where we go from there."

John Gibbons downplayed the injury. “We don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Big enough to put him on the DL, obviously.”

In a corresponding move, Leonel Campos has been called up.

The Phillies acquired utility infielder and outfielder Ty Kelly from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations yesterday. The Blue Jays designated Kelly for assignment on April 21st to make room on the 40-man roster for Mat Latos.

Kelly was initially claimed off of waivers by the Blue Jays early this season. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweeted that the Blue Jays like the versatility Kelly brings to the field (the ability to play second base, third base and left field), but, with a lack of roster spots, there simply wasn’t room for Kelly on the 40-man roster.

Aaron Sanchez threw for the first time since his finger surgery yesterday, and, according to Arash Madani, the bullpen session went well. There is still no solidified timetable for Sanchez’s return, as projecting the progress of blisters is extremely hard. Sanchez initially underwent a procedure on his right middle finger to remove part of his nail on April 17th. Sanchez is eligible to be activated off of the 10-day disabled list on April 25th, although he’ll likely remain out past that date.

The Blue Jays lost 5-4 to the Los Angeles Angels last night, failing to complete the comeback that began in the eighth. Kevin Pillar hit a two-run home run to make the score 5-3, then, in the top of the ninth, Justin Smoak homered to bring the Blue Jays within one. The comeback ended prematurely when Devon Travis grounded into a double play and Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out.

Casey Lawrence, in his first major league start, appeared fairly relaxed for most of his game. In 6.1 innings, Lawrence allowed four earned runs (five total) and eight hits while walking three and striking out four. All four of the earned runs came off of a grand slam in the third inning.

Today, the Blue Jays will once again face the Angels, this time at 3:37 ET. Marcus Stroman, hoping to improve the Blue Jays to 5-13, will get the start for Toronto, while the (w)righty Daniel Wright gets the start for Los Angeles. You can watch the game on Sportsnet-1 or listen to it on Sportsnet 590 The Fan.

AL East score recap:

• Yankees 11, Pirates 5. Three home runs from Starlin Castro, Aaron Judge and Chris Carter helped New York overcome an early 3-0 deficit.
• Rays 6, Astros 3. The Rays, who scored four runs in the sixth to win the game, have now won three straight games and four of their last five. Tampa Bay reliever Tommy Hunter left the game in the sixth inning with right calf tightness.
• Orioles 4, Red Sox 2. Steven Wright, starting for the Red Sox, struggled once again, pitching just 3.2 innings and allowing four earned runs on nine hits and two home runs. His ERA this season rests at 8.66.

Follow Mark Colley on Twitter: @MarkColley.