DENVER (AP)—So far, the Colorado Rockies have wobbled under weighty expectations.Boasting a powerful 1-2 punch on the mound and two potent hitters, the Rockies were a trendy pick coming out of spring training to win the NL West.

But injuries and inconsistent play have hampered the Rockies, who trail World Series champion San Francisco by 8 1/2 games heading into the second half of the season.

In the NL wild-card picture, it’s hardly prettier: The surging Atlanta Braves lead Colorado by 10 1/2 games.

Though the Rockies are known as a second-half team, they have their work cut out to make the postseason for a third time in five years, especially with one of their top pitchers, Jorge De La Rosa(notes), sustaining a season-ending elbow injury in May and their other important arm, Ubaldo Jimenez(notes), still attempting to recapture the form that led to his stellar season in 2010.

This wasn’t supposed to be how the season went for a team that invested more than $250 million in the offseason to improve a club that finished 83-79 last year.

Colorado locked up sluggers Troy Tulowitzki(notes) and Carlos Gonzalez(notes) to lucrative long-term deals, along with bringing back De La Rosa. The Rockies also added veteran infielders Ty Wigginton(notes), who’s coming out of an early season slump, and Jose Lopez(notes), whose struggles led to his release.

At 43-48, they’re below .500 at the All-Star break for the first time since 2008.

“Obviously, I think, to a certain extent `disappointing,”’ manager Jim Tracy said when asked to sum up the first half. “And yet still fighting our rear ends off. I say that just because of some of the different balls that have had to be juggled and some of the unknowns that you encounter along the way.”

Among them, the uneven play of outfielder Dexter Fowler(notes) and third baseman Ian Stewart(notes). Colorado was banking on breakthrough seasons from these two home-grown players, but instead they’ve spent chunks of time at Triple-A Colorado Springs trying to figure out their swings.

Even more, the Rockies have been besieged by injuries, recently losing promising outfielder Charlie Blackmon(notes) when he broke his left foot running the bases.

Aaron Cook(notes), the team’s career leader in wins, also missed the first two months because of a fractured right index finger. He’s 0-4 with a 5.82 ERA since his return.

The Rockies have traditionally soared in the second half, including a memorable run in 2007 when they won 14 of 15 just to win the NL wild card and then used the momentum to carry them into the World Series, where they were swept by Boston.

So this deficit doesn’t daunt them.

“We believe in ourselves. We’ll make a run,” Tulowitzki said. “Sooner or later, we’re going to make this thing a tight race.”

That is, if they can keep the offense cranked up.

The Rockies’ bats have been erratic, leading Tracy to juggle around the lineup. He might have hit on the right combination by inserting Gonzalez, last year’s NL batting champ, into the leadoff spot.

Another surprise has been the emergence of Jhoulys Chacin(notes), who’s picked up the slack in the rotation. The 23-year-old Chacin is 8-7 with a 3.16 ERA.

Jimenez, who won a franchise-record 19 games last season, has been just as mystified by his drastic dip in production as everyone else.

This time last year, the hard-throwing righty was regarded as one of the NL’s best pitchers, even starting the All-Star game.

Jimenez was bothered by a cracked cuticle on his thumb in April, an ailment that landed him briefly on the disabled list.

Lately, it’s been more about controlling his dipping and diving fastball.

He’s showing signs of busting out of his slump, throwing eight sharp innings in a win over Washington just before the break. Still, the Rockies hardly expected Jimenez to be 4-8 with a 4.14 ERA at this stage.

“That is a little bit surprising,” Tracy said. “(We’ve) got some work to do. And yet, we still find ourselves … within striking distance.”

AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington contributed to this report.