ST. LOUIS -- Brewers manager Ned Yost has been known to give struggling players days off for what he calls "mental cleansing." But he is not known to hand out such days in April.

But Yost did just that Friday, leaving center fielder Bill Hall out of the lineup for what was supposed to be the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Gabe Gross was to start in center for the second straight game, but there wasn't a game at all after rain started falling just before the scheduled first pitch.

Yost said the idea was to "give Billy a chance to just regroup a little bit, to get back on track. We know what kind of player Billy is."

Hall had one hit in his last 16 at-bats and no RBIs since Opening Day. Overall, he was hitting .194.

"I hate it. I want to play," Hall said. "But what are you going to do? Other guys are helping us win ballgames right now. ... Other guys are getting big hits right now in big situations."

Hall spent about a half hour on Friday afternoon watching video and conceded his swing needs some tweaks. He is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday.

"Sometimes it's just pitch selection. Sometimes there is a hint of overswinging," hitting coach Jim Skaalen said. "But he's just missing. ... He is one good game away from being hot."

Both Hall and Yost insisted that Hall's position switch was not contributing to his slump. Hall moved from the infield to center field in Spring Training and has already had his struggles.

"I expected to make a few mistakes," Hall said. "As long as I learn from them, that's what's important. I'm working hard every day, because I don't want to make mistakes that often."

Hall, the team's 2006 MVP, said his spirits remain high.

"Everybody goes through struggles," he said. "I'm not the only guy in the league struggling right now."

How do you spell relief? The Brewers knew they had some question marks in the bullpen going into this season. Derrick Turnbow struggled badly in the second half last year, Matt Wise was injured, Brian Shouse wore down a bit down the stretch and newcomer Greg Aquino was a relative unknown.

So far in 2007, the relief corps looks like a strength.

Brewers relievers had allowed just one run over their last 18 2/3 innings and four players had yet to allow a run this year: Aquino, closer Francisco Cordero, Shouse and Turnbow.

Cordero and Turnbow, an All-Star last season before he lost the closer's job, have been particularly effective. That late-inning duo had combined for 16 strikeouts and three walks in nine innings. Cordero has three saves.

"We feel like with 'Bow going in the eighth and Frankie going in the ninth, we've got a nice 1-2 punch there," outfielder Geoff Jenkins said. "We feel really good about that."

Said Craig Counsell: "It just seems like if we can get the game to the eighth inning with a lead, we've got two closers. I know, as somebody who was on another team, those aren't guys you want to be facing. I think it's a real advantage for us."

Matching 'em up: Right-handed-hitting Tony Graffanino was in Friday's starting lineup as the third baseman even though a right-hander -- Anthony Reyes -- was scheduled to start for St. Louis. Yost reiterated that Counsell and Graffanino are not in a strict left-right platoon.

"In some of these situations you have to fill a guy in here or there, because if it was a strict platoon, 'Graf' would never play," Yost said. "There's not a lefty [opponent] coming up in the foreseeable future, so you kind of match them up and keep them both as sharp as you can keep them."

Last call: When Jeff Suppan was presented with his 2006 World Series ring in a brief ceremony Friday, he joined three current teammates with hardware. Craig Counsell has two rings, from 1997 with Florida and '01 with Arizona, catcher Damian Miller also won in '01, and Wise won a ring with the Angels in '02 -- though he missed much of the year with an elbow injury. ... Brewers senior vice president and chief financial officer Bob Quinn was named the 2007 recipient of the "Young Alumnus Award" by the Marquette University College of Business Administration. A fourth-generation baseball executive, Quinn oversees the financial operations of the club, as well as human resources, information systems, ticket services, Miller Park operations and Arizona Spring Training operations. The 38-year-old graduated from Marquette in 1990 with a degree in accounting. ... Prince Fielder hit safely in each of his first nine games this season and was bidding to be the second Brewer to start a year with a double-digit hitting streak. The others were Dickie Thon (1993, 13 games), Ronnie Belliard (2000, 10 games), Dale Sveum (1987, 10 games) and Steve Hovley (1970, 10 games).

Coming up: The Brewers and Cardinals hope to get the first game of the series in when they take to the field Saturday night. Former Cardinal Jeff Suppan opposes St. Louis right-hander Kip Wells. First pitch was pushed back due to weather conditions from the orginally scheduled 12:10 CT start time to 6:10 CT.