WELCOME BACK, BLACKMON – AND GET WELL, LEMAHIEU

The Rockies thought they were getting healthier Tuesday with the return of outfielder Charlie Blackmon to the top of the lineup. But they learned DJ LeMahieu is out with a sore wrist.

milwaukee »The Rockies thought they were getting just a bit healthier Tuesday with the return of Charlie Blackmon to the top of the lineup. Then they learned DJ LeMahieu would be out of the lineup. LeMahieu arrived at Miller Park on Tuesday with a sore left wrist, product of a check swing during Monday night’s 4-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

LeMahieu sounded reasonably certain the injury was minor. “It’ll be fine,” he said. “It’ll be good.”

LeMahieu hurt the wrist when he checked his swing on a strikeout in his second at-bat. He stayed in the game, reaching on a soft groundball single down the first-base line in the fifth and grounding out weakly to second in the seventh.

“It was just a check swing,” he said. “It just didn’t feel good after that. I didn’t feel good swinging. But it’ll be fine.”

Rockies manager Walt Weiss isn’t overly concerned just yet.

“It’s not uncommon to tweak your wrist on a check swing,” Weiss said. “His swing looked a little funny last night when he took it. He was sore (last night), but he showed up considerably more sore today.

“I don’t think it’s anything major. The only concern I have is when DJ complains about something, it’s hurting him pretty good because he doesn’t complain about anything.”

LeMahieu entered Tuesday third in the National League batting race at .344.

“He could play defense or run the bases,” Weiss said. “But swinging the bat’s a little tough right now. Hopefully, a day or two and he’ll be ready to go.”

Number crunching.

Monday night’s 4-2 loss was somewhat of a rarity in that the Rockies lost while holding the opposition to four runs or fewer. They entered Tuesday 45-17 when they keep opponents to four or fewer and 15-48 when giving up five or more runs.

While the Rockies are known for their great hitters and the thin air at Coors Field is known for creating slug fests, the game still comes down to holding the other team in check.

“It always does,” Weiss said. “I don’t care what league you’re playing in or what level, that’s the common denominator for successful teams – they pitch.

“Regardless of how good your offense is, you can’t outslug people for six months in this league. The pitching’s too good. The game tends to fall into place for you when you get a good start.”

Local thorn.

Denver Christian product Kirk Nieuwenhuis was a major villain for the Rockies on Monday night, robbing LeMahieu with a diving catch in right field in the first inning, then adding a big two-run single in the bottom half of that inning.

“I didn’t realize until after he was in pro ball that he was a local kid,” Weiss said. “I don’t think I had any kids his age, so I wasn’t in the loop.”