Rockies hope thumb won't derail De La Rosa

DENVER -- Jorge De La Rosa's left thumb cut short another outing Sunday against the Marlins.

The Rockies yanked De La Rosa after the fifth inning of a 4-3 victory in Miami due to a left thumb bruise that has bothered him since mid-June. Before that, the southpaw pitched through a cut on the middle finger of his pitching hand.

"It's probably the worst his thumb's been in a while," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Every inning, we weren't sure if he was going to make it through the inning. But he's been real resilient with his hand injuries this year. He's got 14 wins and he's had to deal with some kind of hand injury for probably half his starts. So he's gotten real good at working around that thing."

De La Rosa has been one of the club's best starters this year with a 3.28 ERA and has not missed a start this year, a streak that could end when his next turn comes Saturday at Coors Field against the Reds.

"We may alter some things before his next start as far as his routine, but we're hoping he's going to be able to make his next start," Weiss said.