Tulowitzki 'not pain-free', but ready to contribute for Blue Jays

Troy Tulowitzki will be in the lineup Thursday when the Toronto Blue Jays open their best-of-five division series against the Texas Rangers, even with some lingering discomfort in his injured shoulder blade.

"I'm not pain-free. There's still some soreness in there," Tulowitzki told Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling. "But that doesn’t mean I can’t play."

Despite suffering a crack in his right scapula Sept. 12, the result of a collision with center fielder Kevin Pillar during a game at Yankee Stadium, the 30-year-old shortstop returned to the lineup Friday following a three-week absence. Relegated to the seventh spot in the lineup on Friday and in Sunday's regular-season finale, Tulowitzki went 3-for-8 with a pair of doubles.

"I would have really liked to see him play a few more games just for his timing's sake,” manager John Gibbons said. "But he looked pretty good in those two games down there. His timing was better than I thought it was going to be."

Though Tulowitzki, who will likely bat fifth in the ALDS, hasn't had much time to re-adjust to facing major-league pitching, the five-time All-Star said he still relishes the three off-days between the end of the regular season and the start of the division series.

"It's good. It's a long season. You look at everybody in this locker room, they’re probably dealing with some sort of injury or soreness," Tulowitzki said. "So, I think it gives us a chance to get healthy again and get our bodies right so we can play our best."

In 128 games split between Toronto and the Colorado Rockies this season, Tulowitzki hit .280/.337/.440 (102 OPS+) with 17 home runs and 27 doubles, finishing 10th among shortstops with 2.3 wins above replacement.