De La Rosa pitches 5 shutout innings, 4 Rockies homer in 10-4 win over Mariners

De La Rosa strong in Rockies 10-4 win over Seattle

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jorge De La Rosa capped off a record-setting spring with five scoreless innings Saturday at Isotopes Park, the last stop before the Colorado Rockies head to Milwaukee for Monday’s opening day.

“It was pretty good, wasn’t it?” Rockies manager Jim Tracy asked following a 10-4 win over the Seattle Mariners.

“There is no comparison between what we’ve seen this spring and what we saw over the course of the full season last year,” Tracy said of De La Rosa, who left Isotopes Park to catch a team charter before the clubhouse was opened to reporters. “No comparison. He’s that much better.”

De La Rosa allowed five hits, struck out five, walked two and hit a batter to improve to 3-1 in the spring and drop his ERA to 1.50 in 30 innings of work. That ERA breaks the franchise record for a spring set in 2003 by Shaun Chacon (1.64) for pitchers with a minimum of 20 innings worked.

The outing also came on a day in which the Rockies completed their opening day bullpen. Right-hander Esmil Rogers filled a long reliever spot that opened when Greg Smith was put into the starting rotation Friday night after No. 2 starter Jeff Francis was placed on the disabled list.

Right-hander Justin Speier and left-hander Joe Beimel did not make the Rockies’ opening day roster, although Tracy hinted that Beimel’s trip back to the team’s spring facilities in Tucson, Ariz., likely will be a short-lived one.

Doug Fister (0-3) got the loss for Seattle, allowing three runs off six hits in four innings. Mariners infielder Tommy Everidge hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, his second of the spring.

“He’s a command guy and one thing you’d like to see a little bit more of … is just the efficiency,” Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said of Fister. “The ballpark and how hard the ground is, there’s a lot of excuses that we’re talking about. I think going from a ballpark like this to a ballpark like Oakland (for opening day), we’ll be able to evaluate a little bit better.”

Seattle scattered 10 hits among 18 position players used in the game with minor leaguers Travis Denker (2 for 2, two runs scored) and Tommy Everidge (a two-run home run in the sixth inning) doing most of the damage.

Outfielder Milton Bradley was pulled from the game in the fourth inning when he experienced tightness in his right quadriceps after sliding into second while being caught stealing. Wakamatsu said it was a precautionary move.

One day after the Rockies’ first four-home-run game of the spring in the thin air of Albuquerque — roughly the same elevation as Denver’s Coors Field — Colorado belted four more on Saturday.

Jason Giambi hit his first home run of the spring, a solo shot in the fifth inning, and infielder Brad Eldred hit his spring-leading fifth, a three-run homer in the sixth inning.

“I can’t tell you how pleased I am as to the way this spring has gone,” Tracy said. “… We are ready to play on Monday. We are prepared.”