SAN DIEGO — From third baseman Ian Stewart’s throws from the seat of his pants, to Troy Tulowitzki’s strong-armed ballet act at short, to Clint Barmes’ lightning-quick relays at second, to Todd Helton’s magic mitt at first, the Rockies’ infield was superb during the four-game series against the Padres.
Which prompted this bold statement from Stewart: “I think we have the chance to have the best infield in baseball. I’m not knocking any other teams, because there are some other really good infields out there. But with the size of our infielders, and our athletic ability, we are able to get to balls and make a lot of tough plays.”
Helton, Stewart said, anchors the defense.
“I can’t imagine anybody better. I know that throwing to Todd, if you just get it in the general vicinity, he’s going to make the play,” Stewart said.
Manager Jim Tracy was happy to hear Stewart say that.
“Those guys pride themselves on playing that way every day. You would be hard-pressed to think of another infield defense that plays the game much better than these four guys. I’m not saying that there aren’t others that are comparable, but if there are, they are probably a pretty good baseball team.”
Hamstrung.
After sitting out Saturday night’s game because of a sore left hamstring, Stewart started and hit his team-leading 17th home run in the fourth. He also hit an infield single in the sixth.
His leg is still not 100 percent, and might not be for a while, but Stewart said he can deal with the pain and stiffness.
“It’s really not any better than last night, but I’m not really worried about it,” he said. “Everybody has aches and pains, and I can play through it.”
Stewart said the tightness, located behind his left knee, limits him coming out of the batter’s box.
Footnotes.
Brad Hawpe’s home run in the sixth was the 750th homer in Petco Park history. . . . Rockies starters have not allowed a home run in nine games, the club’s longest streak of the season.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
