Jhoulys Chacin throws against the Dodgers on Saturday at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz., (Ben Margot, The Associated Press)
Rockies (SS) 6, Dodgers 4At Salt River Fields
Cleveland 10, Rockies 5At Goodyear Park
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jhoulys Chacin, a would-be candidate to replace the injured Jorge De La Rosa in the Rockies’ home-opener, , struggled through a split-squad game against the Dodgers on Saturday.
The righty allowed four runs on seven hits in three innings. He faced 18 batters over 64 pitches — his longest outing since early last season before he injured his shoulder.
“I had really good stuff with my slider and changeup,” Chacin said. “But I had really poor location. I was leaving too much in the middle.”
Andre Ethier parked a two-run homer to deep left field in the first inning on a first-pitch, center-cut fastball. But Chacin was positive about his outing, saying he felt good physically, and didn’t command the ball as well as he wanted.
He’s less than nervous about his struggles, pointing to 2013 when he bombed the Cactus League, then pitched a career year in the regular season.
“I liked the fact that Jhoulys had more confidence in his fastball,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “He was at 64 pitches today. We wanted to extend him. And he responded well to that.”
Chacin’s placement in the Rockies’ lineup is crucial. If he’s not ready physically for the start of the season, or if he struggles early, Colorado will start in a hole (like where they left off last year) scrambling for replacement pitchers.
“The big part of spring is building him back up and seeing how he responds between each start,” Weiss said.
HITS FROM SATURDAY’S GAMES
Chad Bettis continues to pitch a solid comeback spring. He hasn’t allowed a run in five innings total after a one-hit, three-inning effort against L.A… Infield prospect Trevor Story went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple at Salt River… Charlie Blackmon hit his first home run of the spring, against Cleveland… Corey Dickerson went 2-for-3 with a double at Goodyear.
MISSES
Drew Stubbs, hitting leadoff against the Dodgers, struck out three times… The Rockies left 11 on base against Cleveland, with Brandon Barnes, Wilin Rosario, Ben Paulsen, DJ LeMahieu and Cristhian Adames all going 0-for-3.
UPDATES
Justin Morneau, who hasn’t played since Wednesday, is suffering from left elbow tendinitis. He’s expected back this week… Troy Tulowitzki was scratched from the lineup for a rest day, Weiss said. He was replaced by prospect Emerson Jimenez at shortstop… The Rockies set a Salt River Fields attendance record with 13,126 fans Saturday.
WHAT’S NEXT
Kyle Kendrick, the Rockies’ opening day starter, will pitch against Arizona and Robbie Ray in a 2:10 p.m. MT game at Salt River.
Tags: Andre Ethier, Cactus League, Jhoulys Chacin
