Major League Baseball

Bochy has to be considering some lineup changes;Faced with ineffective play, he may move Ross up

Published Oct. 19, 2010 10:15 a.m. ET

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SAN FRANCISCO - Bruce Bochy admits there are times when he lies awake at night thinking about lineup changes, so it's safe to assume the Giants manager didn't get much sleep on the long charter flight home following Sunday's 6-1 loss to the Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

He probably tossed when he thought of Andres Torres striking out four times, running his total to 12 whiffs in the postseason, which is not the ideal for a leadoff hitter.

He probably turned when he recounted the way Mike Fontenot performed at third base, committing a throwing error that led to an unearned run for the Phillies in the first and allowing an infield popup by Jimmy Rollins to drop in front of him for a single.

Bochy will toss and turn his lineup to try to generate more offense against Cole Hamels in Tuesday's Game 3 at AT&T Park.

Torres, 32, is popular among his teammates because of his infectious enthusiasm. But he's batting .120 in the postseason and will likely be replaced by Aaron Rowand in centerfield. And Fontenot, who is hitting .167, is expected to be replaced by 24-year-old Pablo Sandoval at third base. Also, Juan Uribe's status for Game 3 is uncertain. The shortstop sat out Game 2 with a wrist contusion.

"I know Andres, he's battling it right now," Bochy said prior to the Giants Monday workout. "We can go with either him or Rowand. I'll let these two know after the workout."

With Torres out of the lineup, either Cody Ross or Rowand will hit leadoff. Both have done so in the past.

"I'm one of those guys who doesn't really care where he hits in the lineup as long as I'm in the lineup," said Ross, who hit three home runs in the first two games and has four in the postseason to become the most surprising story of the playoffs. "I think of lot of [my success] has to do with everything kind of slowing down for me."

Ross has had success against Hamels, batting .300 (9 for 30) with four homers against the lefthander.

"I've been going against Cole for four years, and he's had his ups and downs," Ross said. "Right now, though, he's been pitching great."

Rowand, who became wildly popular among Phillies fans after he smashed face-first into the centerfield fence at Citizens Bank Park while making a spectacular catch against the New York Mets in 2006, has yet to play in the series and had only two at-bats in the NL division series against Atlanta.

He signed with the Giants before the 2008 season and was their everyday centerfielder until he lost his way in the batter's box this season, hitting .230 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs in 105 games. There was even some question whether Rowand would make the Giants' NLCS roster.

Frequently, though, players get their juices flowing when they get the opportunity to face former teammates, which seems to be the case with Rowand. In 18 career games against the Phillies, he's batting .368 (21 for 57) with five home runs among his 11 extra-base hits. He has a .438 slugging percentage against the Phillies.

In retrospect, it's remarkable the Giants made it to the NLCS despite Sandoval's disappointing season. The 24-year-old bloomed into a star in 2009 when he hit .330 with 25 homers and 90 RBIs. But he's struggled in his second full season, dropping to .268 with 13 homers and 63 RBIs.

Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.

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