Results tagged ‘ Hunter Pence ’

Needing offense, or some semblance of it

The Rockies are without shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for Wednesday night’s game with the Astros. Manager Jim Tracy’s position on Tuesday night was to use Omar Quintanilla at shortstop, with Clint Barmes at second base.

But when he determined his lineup card, Tracy went with Ian Stewart at second and Barmes at short.

Manager Jim Tracy’s position was Stewart poses more of an offensive threat than Quintanilla. Even Tracy said the Astros won’t be fearing Stewart’s .177 batting average. But Stewart has three hits off the Astros this year. All are home runs.

Here are the lineups for Wednsday:

Rockies

Dexter Fowler, CF

Clint Barmes, SS

Todd Helton, 1B

Brad Hawpe, RF

Garrett Atkins, 3B

Seth Smith, LF

Ian Stewart, 2B

Paul Phillips, C

Jason Marquis, P

Astros

Michael Bourn, CF

Miguel Tejada, SS

Hunter Pence, RF

Carlos Lee, LF

Lance Berkman, 1B

Ivan Rodriguez, C

Geoff Blum, 3B

Edwin Maysonet, 2B

Brian Moehler, P

Rehab city

Left-hander Franklin Morales, coming back from a throwing shoulder strain, had as good a first rehab assignment as the Rockies could have expected on Sunday.

Morales went four innings and gave up two runs on five hits, and threw strikes on 48 of his 72 pitches.

“I talked to a lot of people, and he had a tough first inning and got better after that,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “He threw 86-94 mph, averaged 91-92. He showed good arm strength, his delivery was better. He’s still a work in progress, but it’s a good first step.”

Rockies manager Jim Tracy said Morales will receive another start, then the Rockies will evaluate him.

Right-hander Matt Daley (sprained left foot) is scheduled to throw an innning in Colorado Springs on Monday night, but rain is threatening that. Tracy said his rehab should be a short one.Catcher Chris Iannetta (strained right hamstrings) is due to join the Colorado Springs club on Tuesday. Tracy said there is a chance Iannetta will rejoin the club in Milwaukee at the end of the current road trip.

Now, for the guys who are here at Minute Maid Park for a three-game series with the Astros. …

Center fielder Dexter Fowler receives a rest, and Ryan Spilborghs leads off and plays center.

Rockies

Ryan Spilborghs, CF

Clint Barmes, 2B

Todd Helton, 1B

Garrett Atkins, 3B

Brad Hawpe, RF

Seth Smith, LF

Troy Tulowitzki, SS

Yorvit Torrealba, C

Aaron Cook, P

Astros

Michael Bourn, CF

Miguel Tejada, SS

Hunter Pence, RF

Carlos Lee, LF

Lance Berkman, 1B

Ivan Rodriguez, C

Jeff Keppinger, 3B

Edwin Maysonet, 2B

Roy Oswalt, P

 

Go Pens! … Nothing wrong with Barmes

As I write, the Penguins are up on the Capitals, 4-0, in the second period of Game 7. How cool.

Good comment on yesterday’s blog: infielder Clint Barmes has been notably absent from the starting lineup, and he isn’t starting tonight, either. It would make some sense to have him at second as another left-handed bat against Astros lefty Mike Hampton. Plus, Barmes hasn’t been in the lineup since Friday, when he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against the Marlins.

Checked with Barmes today. He’s not injured and says he’s ready to play when needed.

A few factors keep Barmes out of the lineup:

– The Rockies are giving third baseman Garrett Atkins more time to overcome his almost season-long hitting slump. Manager Clint Hurdle said he gives a younger player abotu 100 at-bats and a player of Atkins’ experience about 150 at-bats to find his form.

– Stewart hit two home runs last night agianst the Astros. He also has a history of hitting lefties well.

“I want to see him against this left-hander, Mike [Hampton],” Hurdle said. “We know him a little bit, not that ‘Stew’ does. Just watching tape and historically, Mike gets outs. There’s no doubt he can get people out. His walks-to-strikeouts ratio is better against left-handers but the batting average is pretty similar, .284 to .281.

“‘Stew’ still has a pretty good history of hitting left-handed pitching. [Thursday starter Wandy] Rodriguez could present more of a challenge. He’s just off to a tremendous start this year, overall and especially against left-handed hitters. And I want to play off the momentum he was able to create and bring to the table yesterday.”

Here are both lineups:

Astros

Kazuo Matsui            2B

Michael Bourn           CF

Lance Berkman         1B

Carlos Lee                 LF

Miguel Tejada            SS

Hunter Pence            RF

Geoff Blum                3B

Humberto Quintero      C

Mike Hampton            P

Rockies

Dexter Fowler           CF

Troy Tulowitzki         SS

Todd Helton              1B

Ryan Spilborghs        LF

Brad Hawpe              RF

Garrett Atkins           3B

Chris Iannetta             C

Ian Stewart                2B

Jason Marquis             P

No hot seat, but still …

I’ve been asked on a number of radio shows recently about the jobsecurity of Rockies manager Clint Hurdle. It’s logical. After all, the D-backs fired Bob Melvin, and that team had a slightly better record than the Rockies. I said all along that it’s not the Rockies’ style to make such a quick change. None of my sources have said anything different. If there was heat, it was from the outside. A story in the Denver Post today confirms; ownership isn’t looking to make the big change.

Anyhow, here’s the issue: they’ve got to score to win. The Rockies’ pitching was supposed to be weak, yet the staff leads the National league with a 2.81 ERA in May. Their May record is 4-6 going into Tuesday night’s game against the Astros at Coors Field.

hHit and everyone stays employed. Or at least that’s the way it seems to me.

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will do his part tonight. The pain from the quadriceps strain he suffered Sunday is manageable, so he’s in the lineup. 

Here are tonight’s lineups:

Astros

Kazuo Matsui                   2B

Michael Bourn                  CF

Lance Berkman                1B

Carlos Lee                        LF

Miguel Tejada                   SS

Hunter Pence                   RF

Geoff Blum                       3B

Ivan Rodriguez                   C

Felipe Paulino                   P

Rockies

Dexter Fowler                  CF

Troy Tulowitzki                SS

Todd Helton                    1B

Brad Hawpe                    RF

Garrett Atkins                 3B

Seth Smith                     LF

Chris Iannetta                   C

Ian Stewart                     3B

Ubaldo Jimenez                P

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