Rockies aim to protect LeMahieu’s batting title

SAN FRANCISCO — A batting title is nice, but Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu would rather that not be the biggest item on his list.

LeMahieu went into Tuesday’s opener of three games against the Giants with a .350 average, three points ahead of the Nationals’ Daniel Murphy. Problem is with Murphy having not started since Sept. 17 and not played since Sept. 20 with a nagging left glute strain, LeMahieu could injure his chances by doing what he likes most — competing.

So LeMahieu’s attention is on the Giants, a team the Rockies have been tough on this year. The Giants’ concentration is on clinging to National League Wild Card position, so they don’t care about LeMahieu’s numbers.

“We’ve played well against them all year and I hope we can continue that,” LeMahieu said. “We’re coming off of a rough series in L.A. [a four-game sweep that saw the Dodgers clinch the NL West], so it would be nice to bounce back against these guys.

“I can’t worry about the numbers. I’ll just try to have good at-bats and see where we are at the end of the …

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