SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Todd Helton got his first hit of spring training and Jeff Francis pitched four scoreless innings Tuesday to carry the Colorado Rockies to a 6-2 victory over the Cubs, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Helton, a .320 hitter who was limited to 69 games and hit a career-low .238 while struggling with hip problems last season, gave Colorado a-1-0 lead in the first with an opposite-field ground-rule double. It was only his second spring game and third at-bat, He ground out sharply to the pitcher in his other at-bat.
Francis ran his spring scoreless innings string to nine. The only hit he gave up was bloop single to starter Scott Feldman, who signed as a free agent with the Cubs after six-plus seasons with the Texas Rangers.
Feldman was rocked for four runs on six hits in facing 13 batters in a little over two innings.
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