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Rockies get another shot at Lohse

By Gerry Fraley, Special to the Rocky

Published March 31, 2008 at 10:59 p.m.

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The Rockies will revisit tonight one of their many memorable moments from last fall's march to the World Series.

They get to face right-hander Kyle Lohse again.

Rain forced postponement of the Rockies' scheduled opener against St. Louis on Monday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The game was rescheduled for tonight, forcing the clubs to scramble for starting pitchers.

The Cardinals picked Lohse, who had been scheduled to pitch a simulated game today against St. Louis' affiliate in the Double-A Texas League.

Lohse is behind the other Cardinals pitchers because he was unemployed three weeks ago.

Lohse pitched only 10 innings in two exhibition appearances against major leaguers. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Lohse should be able to handle about 90 pitches.

"He's in good shape," La Russa said. "We'll watch him and see how it goes."

Lohse said he "is ready to go" and said it is "weird" for him to get the start. Lohse cut off further questions, citing a policy of not talking to reporters on the day before starts.

Roger Clemens followed a similar policy during his career, which included 354 wins and seven Cy Young Awards. Lohse is 63-74 with a 4.82 ERA lifetime and had a monumental collapse against the Rockies in last season's National League Division Series.

Philadelphia led only once in the three-game series: 3-2 in the fourth inning of the second game. With two out and the bases loaded, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel brought in Lohse to replace starter Kyle Kendrick.

Lohse lost the lead in four pitches. Kazuo Matsui, who had only four home runs in 410 regular-season at-bats, rocked him for a grand slam that took the fight out of the Phillies.

Lohse's flop against the Rockies might have cost him money. He went into the free-agent market expecting multiyear offers that never materialized. He swallowed his pride and accepted a one-year deal worth $4.5 million from the pitching-strapped Cardinals on March 13.

Now, Lohse is set to start on a second try at the 2008 opener. The Rockies look for 2007 redux.