Carlos Gonzalez is slumping at the plate. (Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports)
DENVER — Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss said he dropped right fielder Carlos Gonzalez to sixth in the lineup Wednesday night so the right fielder could “take a breath” and possibly relax.
Gonzalez batted sixth for the first time since Sept. 17, 2012.
However, after he went 0-for-3 without hitting the ball out of the infield Wednesday, he wasn’t in the starting lineup Thursday when the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 2-1.
Gonzalez entered the game on a double switch in the eighth and struck out in the bottom of the inning. He is hitting .175 with a .213 on-base percentage, one homer and five RBIs. Gonzalez is hitless in 14 consecutive at-bats and has one hit in his past 22 at-bats.
“I’ve been picking days (off) for guys, and I’ve been wanting to give CarGo one for the last few days,” Weiss said. “But (Corey Dickerson) was banged up and we were short-handed, so I thought a day game after a night game was a good spot for it.”
Dickerson is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot that caused him to leave Monday’s game and limited him to pinch-hitting Tuesday before he returned to the lineup Wednesday and hit two home runs. He blasted his fifth homer of the season in the fifth inning Thursday to put the Rockies ahead 2-1, the game-winning hit, as it turned out.
Gonzalez, who underwent left knee surgery last August, started 14 of the Rockies’ previous 15 games before Thursday. Mindful of the operation and Gonzalez’s workload, Weiss said he wanted Gonzalez to rest his knee but acknowledged a day away from the grind might benefit Gonzalez.
“Sometimes we all need a break mentally, so it serves both purposes,” Weiss said.
