Rogers will take Francis’ turn, start final game

Esmil Rogers will start Sunday when the Colorado Rockies close the season at St. Louis, taking the turn of Jeff Francis, who hasn’t pitched well in three starts since returning from the disabled list Sept. 13.

Rogers relieved Francis in the fourth inning Tuesday and held the Dodgers to three hits and one run _ James Loney homered after Rogers had thrown 3 2/3 scoreless innings _ with two walks and six strikeouts. It was the longest outing for Rogers since he made his seventh and most recent start Aug. 31 and pitched into the seventh at San Francisco.

Francis, 29, missed a month with left biceps soreness. Since he was activated Sept. 13, Francis is 0-2 with an 8.38 ERA. He has pitched just 9 2/3 innings in that stretch _ and thrown 204 pitches _ and has allowed 17 hits, including four home runs, and 10 runs, nine earned. He lasted three innings Tuesday against the Dodgers and gave up six hits and five runs, four earned. Francis gave up back-to-back homers to Matt Kemp and Casey Blake in a five-run third.

“I think we obviously know there’s some work to be done between now and April 2011,” manager Jim Tracy said, “and I don’t think it’s fair because of the professionalism of the person we’re talking about to expose him again to the possibility or the potential that a club could start knocking him around and throw a big number up on him in one inning. That’s not how I treat my players.”

Francis, who is 4-6 with a 4.93 ERA in 19 starts, missed the entire 2009 season following shoulder surgery Feb. 25, 2009. The day after his final spring training start, Francis felt pain in his left armpit area. He opened the season on the disabled list and didn’t make his 2010 debut until May 16.

After an Aug. 11 start, Francis went on the disabled list with left biceps soreness and didn’t pitch again for the Rockies until Sept. 13. The Rockies aren’t going to pick up their $7 million on Francis for 2011, which doesn’t preclude him from resigning for a lower salary after he becomes a free agent.

Tracy said Francis is “as fine a human being as you’d ever want to be around.” While Francis’ character and makeup are not what Tracy called “a tough read at all,” the manager said, “What is a difficult read is the uncertainty of shoulder surgery and actually where is it all going to go.”

Tracy said it’s unfair to say where Francis will be health-wise in February 2011. “Shoulders are a very, very tricky thing,” Tracy said. “Sometimes it takes a lot of time. Sometimes people are astounded that a guy is back as early as he is. Some guys take a little longer. There are others that maybe never, ever reach back to being (what they were). I’m not saying Jeff is that case, but I am saying there have been cases like that.

“Shoulder surgery is a really, really big unknown versus an elbow. Tommy John (surgery) _ it’s like Jiffy Lube and saying: Hey, I need the 5,000 mile oil change or whatever and they do it. And I’m not saying that facetiously or sarcastically or trying to be funny.”

Francis, who won 17 games and helped the Rockies reach the World Series in 2007, has a career record of 55-50. He has more wins than any left-hander in franchise history and ranks third all-time in victories.

Also, second baseman Eric Young Jr. said the MRI he underwent Tuesday showed no structural damage to his lower right leg and he simply needs to rest. Young, who will not play the rest of the season, has been experiencing soreness in his right tibia, where he suffered a stress fracture in May.

Third baseman Ian Stewart is in the starting lineup for the first time since Aug. 25. He had been sidelined with a right oblique strain and after being activated Sept. 23 and appearing two games, Stewart came down with the flu.