Major League Baseball
Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 5
Major League Baseball

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 5

Published Mar. 6, 2012 12:58 a.m. ET

Gerardo Parra may have lost his starting spot in the Arizona outfield, but he hasn't lost his hitting stroke or his positive outlook.

Parra led off the game with a double and scored, and later hit a solo home run in the Diamondbacks' 6-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies in a sloppy, early-spring game Monday.

The Rockies won in the bottom of the ninth inning when Ben Paulsen hit a home run deep down the right-field line off Jonathan Albaladejo. Paulsen hit 19 home runs with Double-A Tulsa last year.

The game included six errors, four by Arizona, and four home runs. Ryan Roberts and Chris Owings joined Parra with solo shots for the Diamondbacks.

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Parra, who hit .292 last season and won a Gold Glove in left field, is the fourth outfielder this season after the Diamondbacks signed free agent Jason Kubel to go with Chris Young and Justin Upton. Parra's double and homer were the only two hits off Colorado starter Jhoulys Chacin.

Parra also showed off his defensive prowess, making a diving catch in left-center to rob Jordan Pacheco of a hit to end the third inning. There were 16 hits in the game, but Parra was the only player with more than one.

''My plan is to stay comfortable, play happy and keep my concentration on the field,'' said Parra, who can play all three outfield positions and will spell each of the starters at different times. ''I feel comfortable and I feel great at every position. If you stay comfortable and just play baseball, you stay happy.''

Colorado's Nolan Arenado and shortstop Jonathan Herrera - a late lineup addition in place of the ill Troy Tulowitzki - each hit RBI doubles in the second off Daniel Hudson.

Paulsen, who added a toe-tap to his batting stance during the Arizona Fall League in October, had what Colorado manager Jim Tracy called ''a very noisy'' hit to end the game.

''I had a good spring last year, it's too bad I couldn't follow it up with a better season,'' said Paulsen, who hit .241 at Tulsa. ''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 made two errors in the first inning, one by Chacin and one by Chad Tracy, the manager's son, who sailed a throw over the catcher's head from first base allowing two runs to score.

Chacin struck out two and used his fastball almost exclusively in his first spring training start.

''I threw my fastball and my first pitch for strikes, which is what I was trying to do,'' he said. ''I only threw one slider and two curveball and stuck to fastballs. We will mix it up more later, but locating my fastball and getting quick outs are important.''

NOTES: A day after the Diamondbacks-Giants game was delayed for 40 minutes by a swarm of bees at Salt River Fields, there were no sightings on Monday. But just to be on the safe side, Colorado bench coach Tom Runnels delivered the Rockies lineup card to home plate wearing the top portion of a beekeeper's outfit. ... Tulowitzki was a scratch with a minor illness.

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