Weiss may bench LeMahieu to preserve NL batting title

Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss is doing everything in his power to ensure DJ LeMahieu wins the National League batting title.

LeMahieu leads Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy by .001 after going 0-for-2 on Friday, and Weiss said his second baseman will likely not play again this season in order for LeMahieu to win the title.

Weiss said he wouldn't normally bench his player, but because Murphy is sidelined for the remainder of the regular season with an injury, he believes its fair.

"It's a unique situation because Murphy is injured and not playing," Weiss told reporters Friday. "If he's playing, they can fight it out, but I don't want DJ to lose a batting title that way. So, yeah, I'm going to pay attention to the math. My philosophy, whether you like it or not, is I'm going to take care of the guys that take care of our team. DJ's one of those guys that takes care of our team."

It's been a career year for LeMahieu, who's hitting .348/.416/.495 - a dramatic improvement on his .300/.351/.400 slash line over his six years in the majors.

LeMahieu acknowledged that, while he'd like to be on the field with his teammates for the last two games, he also understands what's at stake.

"It's probably the least amount of fun I've had all year," LeMahieu said. "Part of me wants to be out there competing, doing what I've been doing all year. The other part of me sees there's something really special out there, and I'm going to let Walt take care of it."

The Rockies have had nine players win the batting title in their history, with Justin Morneau claiming the last one in 2014.