Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe’s stellar game came to a scary end in the sixth inning Monday night.
Hawpe was diving back into second base when a pickoff throw from Padres catcher Nick Hundley smacked him on the right side of the head, near his neck. Hawpe lay motionless for several minutes before he was taken off the field in a golf cart. The initial report was that Hawpe suffered a possible concussion. He was taken to Denver’s Rose Medical Center for more evaluation.
“Our prayers are with him,” outfielder Ryan Spilborghs said. “We think about him first as a friend, then about what he does for the team. At first, I thought he got spiked in the face. Hopefully there is no structural damage.”
Hawpe was 2-for-2 with a two-run double and two runs scored. His fourth-inning double extended his hitting streak to six games, tied with Garrett Atkins for the longest this season by a Rockie.
Iannetta slumping too.
Troy Tulowitzki isn’t the only Rockies player struggling with the April blues. Catcher Chris Iannetta is hitting just .143 despite going 1-for-3 Monday night. He has no hits with runners in scoring position. Still, he has started 13 of 18 games as the Rockies continue to show confidence in his performance behind the plate.
Asked how close Iannetta is to regaining his form, manager Clint Hurdle said, “The game will tell us. He has shown some better swings. We’d like to get to the point where there’s (some) hard contact. You’d like to see the ball jump off the barrel.”
Waiting in the wings is backup catcher Yorvit Torrealba. He is hitting just .235 but has had only 17 at-bats.
Grand Marquis.
Sinkerballer Jason Marquis’ pitching repertoire seems ideally suited for Coors Field. With his victory over the Dodgers on Sunday, Marquis improved to 5-0 at Coors Field. He is one of five pitchers to own at least five victories at the ballpark without a loss. The others are Chuck McElroy (9-0), Lance Painter (6-0), David Cortes (5-0) and Brett Myers (5-0).
