Colorado Rockies secure narrow win against Arizona Diamondbacks – MLB Spring Training
Colorado Rockies made a decent start to their 2012 Spring Training Campaign as they clinched a narrow 6-5 win over Arizona Diamondbacks at the Salt River Fields here in Pima County, Arizona. The Rockies played a very aggressive brand of baseball on Monday to floor their rivals. The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, will be very disappointed as the result did not go their way despite putting up a valiant fight.
Diamondbacks’ Gerardo Parra made useful contributions with the bat as he led off the game with a double and scored. He also hit a towering solo home run in his side’s 5-6 loss to the Rockies. Not only is Parra an outstanding hitter, he also has the ability to use his powerful arm to throw out runners.
The left handed striker looked on top of his game play last season as he batted with .292 average with eight home runs and 46 RBI’s. It will not be wrong to say that he played a key role in Diamondbacks amazing turnaround last season. However, there will be more pressure on him in 2011 and it will be interesting to see if he can continue his excellent hitting and fielding form into this season.
"My plan is to stay comfortable, play happy and keep my concentration on the field," said Parra, who can play all three outfield positions. "I feel comfortable and I feel great at every position. If you stay comfortable and just play baseball, you stay happy."
"I had a good spring last year, it's too bad I couldn't follow it up with a better season," said Paulsen. "I tried a leg kick, I tried no-stride, and the coach said, `Have you ever done a toe-tap?' and I said only in Little League when I was trying to imitate Chipper Jones."
The Rockies handled the pressure absolutely brilliantly deep in the ninth inning. Ben Paulsen hit a home run towards the right field off Jonathan Albaladejo to let his side take control of the game. Nolan Arenado and shortstop Jonathan Herrera also made useful contributions, both hitting RBI doubles in second inning. Colorado will be looking to maintain their decent form throughout Spring Training to build their confidence. However, they must control their fielding errors to achieve similar results against top teams.
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