Rockies report: Atkins consistent

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 5, 2008 at 11:46 p.m.

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Numbers game

64 errors by the Rockies, four fewer than their season total last year. But it's the fourth-lowest total in the National League this year, behind Houston (53), St. Louis (55) and San Diego (63).

He said it

"We don't make excuses. Baseball players travel. Sometimes, the team that has been traveling wins games.

Hurdle, on whether the Rockies just-completed trip to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Miami had a negative impact on their play against the Nationals.

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First baseman Garrett Atkins has been the most consistent member of the Rockies lineup. The question is whether the grind, in addition to his recent move from third base to first base in the absence of Todd Helton, has begun to wear him down.

Atkins appeared in his team-high 112th game of the season Tuesday. Matt Holliday is second on the team with 98. Atkins leads the team with 445 at-bats, 61 more than Holliday.

He is also in a slump, having only five hits in his previous nine games, and his average has fallen to .294, the lowest since he was hitting .268 on April 12.

Manager Clint Hurdle said there are some mechanical flaws in Atkins' swing right now, "and the question is whether that is fatigue. If it doesn't get straightened out, that is something we have to consider."

ETC.

There was a scoring change in Monday's game, resulting in two of the four runs the Nationals scored in the third inning being ruled earned instead of one. As a result, right-hander Aaron Cook was charged with five earned runs in 52/3 innings, giving him a 3.68 ERA. . . . Andy Stover, trainer for the Rockies' short-season Tri-City affiliate, was selected the Northwest League trainer of the year in a vote by his peers in the league. . . . The Rockies had won seven consecutive games against the Nationals at Coors Field dating to Aug. 14, 2005, before the loss Monday. . . . The Rockies have won eight of nine games a rookie has started against them since July 1. They are 14-5 in games a left-hander has started against them at Coors Field this year, 19-13 overall. . . . Stewart's home run is the only one hit by a Rockies player other than Matt Holliday in the past six games. Holliday had two home runs Saturday and one Sunday in Florida. . . . Holliday's double in the eighth gave him a hit in 18 of his past 19 games against the Nationals. . . . Right-handed pitcher Steven Register, who made his major league debut Monday, is the 24th pitcher used by the Rockies this season, six short of last year's total. He also is the 13th rookie and joins infielders Jonathan Herrera, Jayson Nix and Doug Bernier, left-hander Cedrick Bowers and right-hander Greg Reynolds in making major league debuts this year.

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