Rockies report: Helton hopes to ease pain

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 7, 2008 at 11:25 p.m.

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He Said It

"I wanted a bat. The guys we send out there (in the infield) to play right now are going to play. It's not a perfect bench, but it's what I felt we needed."

Clint Hurdle, Rockies manager, on bringing up outfielder Seth Smith when shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was placed on the disabled list.

Numbers Game

16 home runs for the Rockies in the first seven games of July, tops in the National League. Milwaukee is second with 13. The Rockies are only 10th in the NL for the season with 87 home runs.

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Rockies first baseman Todd Helton is hopeful an epidural he will receive today will ease the back and leg pain that forced him onto the disabled list last week.

Helton had been battling leg problems since mid-June, straining a hamstring while the Rockies were playing the White Sox in Chicago, and he attempted to play through that because the team was short-handed. He said the hamstring and current leg problem are not related.

Etc.

Center fielder Willy Taveras was back in the lineup for the first time in six games. Taveras was sidelined with soreness in his left quadriceps and assured manager Clint Hurdle he was full speed before being returned to the lineup, but he did not appear to be running at his top speed at times and was taken out of the game in favor of Ryan Spilborghs in the eighth. . . . Matt Holliday's RBI single in the fifth extended his hitting streak to 11 games. He has hit safely in 22 of his past 23 games. Holliday also homered leading off the seventh and is 37-for-87 during the hitting streak. . . . Second baseman Jeff Baker jammed his right wrist, sliding into second base on his second stolen base of the season in the sixth inning. He remained in the game until the ninth, but was examined after the game. "The X-rays were negative," Baker said. "We'll see how it feels (tonight)." . . . Rockies left-handed pitcher Glendon Rusch said he was told he will start Wednesday's game against his former Milwaukee teammates. Rusch pitched for the Brewers during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. . . . The Brewers expect a sellout crowd tonight for the Milwaukee debut of left-handed pitcher CC Sabathia, acquired from Cleveland on Monday. By 8:30 p.m. (CDT) Monday, only 3,500 seats remained. More than 9,000 tickets for the game were sold by the Brewers ticket office after the official announcement of the trade. . . . Milwaukee placed right-handed pitcher Jeff Suppan on the disabled list with an irritation in his right elbow. The move creates roster space for Sabathia. In his past four starts, Suppan worked 15 2/3 innings, giving up 21 runs, 18 of which were earned. . . . Double-A Tulsa outfielder Dexter Fowler went 1-for-3 Monday and has raised his average to .330. He has gone 17-for-34 in his past nine games. Right-handed pitcher Jhoulys Chacin allowed one run in 14 innings and went 1-0 his first two starts after being promoted to High-A Modesto.