Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 4; Tulowitzki's three hits lead Rockies in final Tucson tune-up

Troy Tulowitzki went three for three with two runs scored, and the Rockies bullpen held Arizona scoreless for the final five and a third innings in a seven to four win, Thursday. Garrett Atkins also had two hits, albeit against pitchers unlikely to crack Arizona's roster this season as the Diamondbacks try to hide their pitchers from divisional opponents until games actually matter. In a similar bit of gamesmanship, the Rockies decided to start minor leaguer Chaz Roe instead of Ubaldo Jimenez, Roe pitched three and two thirds innings, giving up all four Arizona runs.

THE BIG QUESTION: Actually the only question left unanswered on the Spring remains who will win the Rockies final roster spot. With word this afternoon that the Rockies interest in Chad Gaudin has cooled, the three remaining possibilities are Juan Morillo, Matt Belisle or making a trade for Jason Hammel. The Rockies seem intent on delaying making this decision as long as possible by making use of fifth starter Franklin Morales' remaining minor league option until they need his services later in April.

The smaller question: After losing the very first game of Spring Training to the Diamondbacks, the Rockies won the last three against their four corner rivals and outscored Arizona 28-15 overall in four contests, but given the way Arizona holds back their pitchers, what does that mean, exactly? In Cactus League play in 2008 the Rockies went 2-2 against the Diamondbacks, being outscored 36-37 (this doesn't count the Chase Field exhibition the Rockies won 12-4 to close the Spring) and we saw where that took us. Still, given the atrocious job we did handling the Diamondbacks during the regular season, I'm liking the improved approach our pitchers are taking, allowing less than four runs per contest is much better than allowing over nine, even if it doesn't count.

Wrap rating: Wrapping the Arizona portion of the Spring schedule calls for an Arizona Wrap.