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Rosario wants to play through infected tooth

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario sat out his third straight game Monday night because of an infected lower right wisdom tooth, but hopes to play Tuesday and will hold off on having it extracted until the end of the season.

Rosario said an extraction would cost him five to 10 days. Even though the Rockies entered Monday's game against the Giants 12 games below .500 with 18 to play, Rosario wanted to miss as little baseball as possible.

So a dentist flushed out the infection and gave him painkillers, and Rosario believes he'll be back on the field soon.

"Before yesterday, [the pain] was like eight of 10," Rosario said. "It's starting to go down."

Rosario, who is hitting .289 with 21 home runs and entered Monday second on the club with 74 RBIs, said it was possible he'd be available to pinch-hit Monday night, but noted that the medication had him woozy and facing fastballs could be hazardous.

"There is nothing as bad as tooth pain, and that's what Wilin is dealing with," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.

Thomas Harding is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Hardball in the Rockies, and follow him on Twitter @harding_at_mlb. Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: Colorado Rockies, Wilin Rosario