The Rockies will be without cleanup hitter Garrett Atkins for the second straight night because of strep throat, as the team faces the division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Coors Field.
Atkins has not eaten much in the past 36 hours and will likely remain unavailable for Thursday’s game against the Diamondbacks.
With Atkins gone, manager Clint Hurdle continued tweaking his lineup, trying to find a combination to jump-start a stagnant offense.
Second baseman Clint Barmes will lead off, with slumping center fielder Willy Taveras dropping to the second spot in the order.
The Rockies have scored more than three runs off an opposing starting pitcher only twice in this current homestand, which goes a long way in explaining while they are 2-6 in their past eight games and trail Arizona by nine games in the NL West.
“It’s been a hard two weeks for our offense and a hard two weeks at the top of the order for Willy,” Hurdle said. “We’ve had a lot of effort from guys, but we need production.”
Jeff Francis will make his second start tonight since returning from the disabled list. He goes against left-hander Doug Davis.
Tonight’s Rockies lineup:
2B Barmes
CF Taveras
LF Holliday
C Iannetta
1B Baker
RF Hawpe
SS Tulowitzki
3B Stewart
LHP Francis
