Oct 11, 2009 - 9:08 PM
0 shoutsBy ARNIE STAPLETON AP Sports Writer
DENVER(AP) -- Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy juggled his lineup Sunday with Phillies left-hander J.A. Happ on the mound instead of Pedro Martinez.
Tracy benched All-Star right fielder Brad Hawpe, who has slumped over the second half of the season, and replaced him with Ryan Spilborghs for Game 3, which was bumped back a night because of a snowstorm.
Tracy also moved catcher Yorvit Torrealba up two spots to fifth in the order, hoping to put his hottest bat behind Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki, who have yet to get into an offensive groove in this best-of-five series.
Torrealba, a career .255 hitter, said he had never batted fifth in the order.
"I guess it's because I showed them some power Thursday," said Torrealba, whose two-run homer in Game 2 was his first since May 6. "I'd bat ninth behind the pitcher if I had to. All that matters is I'm playing.
Tracy again went with Garrett Atkins at third base, leaving Ian Stewart's powerful bat on the bench. Atkins will bat sixth and Spilborghs seventh.
Spilborghs hit just .230 against left-handers during the season, 64 points below his career average. Hawpe hit .240 against lefties since the All-Star break after hitting .320 against them before the break.
"You look at the guys we have on our bench it's not like you're throwing a bunch of guys that haven't done anything this year," Spilborghs said. "My numbers aren't where they've been in years past but you look at guys like Garrett and myself, those are still quality big-leaguers that are on the bench. We're not throwing out prayers, we're confident people and we're always confident when we throw Smith or anybody.
"Regardless of who's on our bench they're quality major league players and there's a reason why our team's where we're at. We have a good, strong team up and down from starters to bench guys."
