Reduced roles for two Rockies

DENVER - Outfielder Brad Hawpe and righthander Jason Marquis, Colorado's representatives at the All-Star Game this season, are expected to spend the remainder of the National League division series in minor roles.

Rockies manager Jim Tracy was unavailable for comment yesterday, but his recent moves indicate a loss of faith in the all-stars.

The Phillies' switch from righthander Pedro Martinez to lefthander J.A. Happ as the scheduled starter for tonight's game at Coors Field likely will keep Hawpe out of the lineup. After Hawpe went 0 for 3 against lefthander Cliff Lee in the opener, Tracy returned to his second-half pattern and used Ryan Spilborghs, a righthanded hitter, against lefthander Cole Hamels in the second game.

Hawpe hit .320 with 14 homers, 59 RBIs, and a .577 slugging percentage in the first half. He dropped to .240 with nine homers, 27 RBIs, and a .442 slugging percentage in the second half.

Marquis is expected to stay in the bullpen and lose his start in Game 4 to righthander Ubaldo Jimenez, the Game 1 loser, who would be pitching on normal rest. In the final month of the regular season, Tracy pushed back Marquis to keep Jimenez on his usual schedule.

Marquis made the all-star team after going 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA in the first half. He dropped to 4-7 with a 4.56 in the second half overall and 1-4 with a 6.05 ERA in his final seven starts.

Being skipped in the postseason is common for Marquis. He has been with a playoff team in all 10 years of his career but has made only three postseason starts, none since 2004.

"I think the first two-thirds of the season were exceptional," Tracy said of Marquis earlier in the series. "Right now, he's not throwing the ball in the same manner. This is a performance-oriented business."

Hammel expected to start Game 3. Unlike the Phillies, the Rockies expressed no desire to change their pitching plans for the third game. Righthander Jason Hammel, the scheduled starter, pulled well ahead of Marquis in the staff pecking order during the final month of the season.

"To ignore a guy who has thrown the ball as well as Jason Hammel, we'd be doing ourselves a disservice," Tracy said earlier in the series.

This will be Hammel's first start since Sept. 30. He made one start this season on more than six days of rest and was hit hard, allowing five runs and 10 baserunners in three innings during a loss to San Diego in April. For Hammel's career, opponents are hitting .344 with a .610 slugging percentage when he pitches on more than six days' rest.

Notes. Lefthander Jeff Francis, the ace during Colorado's run to the World Series in 2007, rejoined the club after a stay in the instructional league. Francis missed the entire season after undergoing shoulder surgery during spring training. He is expected to be ready for spring training 2010. . . . Colorado gave up Aneury Rodriguez, a 21-year-old righthander, in the late-spring deal that brought in Hammel from Tampa Bay. Rodriguez went 9-11 with a 4.50 ERA in the Class AA Southern League. . . . In the sweep of a division series in 2007, Colorado held the Phillies to one hit in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position. The Rockies' pitchers have not been as good this time. Through two games, the Rockies have allowed seven hits in 16 at-bats with runners in scoring position.