Right-hander Jarrod Parker’s spring-training debut didn’t go exactly how he or the Diamondbacks would have drawn it up, but amid the nerves and the adversity, manager Kirk Gibson had the chance to learn something about the organization’s great pitching hope.

Profile: Jarrod Parker

He was able to see him wiggle out of a jam.

Parker retired one of baseball’s better hitters, Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki, with the bases loaded, escaping trouble he created by issuing three walks.

“He didn’t lose his composure, by any means,” Gibson said. “I think he’s one of those guys who’s a fierce competitor and is pretty hard on himself. He’s a young kid, has a lot to learn. He has a golden arm, for sure.”

That arm, fully recovered some 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery, was firing fastballs in the 91-95 mph range, though they weren’t as well-located as Parker would have liked.

“I’m not where I want to be,” Parker said. “But that’s what spring training is for.”

After striking out the first batter he faced, he walked three of the next four batters to bring Tulowitzki to the plate.

But he got ahead of Tulowitzki with a fastball for Strike 1 and followed that with another fastball, this one jamming the Rockies’ shortstop, who flew out to right to end the inning.

“He was excited,” Gibson said. “He’s got to have better command than that. He’s a young kid, and he was pumped up.” It was his first appearance. He walked three guys – not what he wants to do.”

Parker threw 28 pitches – one slider mixed among fastballs and change-ups – and came away from it feeling great. That includes a leg that Gibson revealed had been a reason Parker was “moved to the back of the line” in the team’s pitching schedule.

When performing Tommy John surgery, doctors removed a tendon from his left leg for use in the elbow. As a result, Parker’s hamstring had been nagging at him in recent weeks. He said it felt “perfect” on Monday.

As for the Tulowitzki escape, he was glad he was able to experience it – and come away unscathed.

“It’s good for me to work out of it,” he said. “I saw him coming up and had to focus and lock in.”

Parker probably will open the year in Double-A Mobile, though he could be called upon at some point this season, at which time he’ll happily try to shed the prospect label.

“I’m about done with being a prospect,” he said with a smile.

‘Aggressive bunch’

Gibson has liked what he’s seen from the club’s younger players, who have played well after entering games in the middle innings.

The Diamondbacks have outscored opponents 17-11 from the fifth inning on in the first four games of the Cactus League.

“I love it,” Gibson said. “They’re an aggressive bunch.”

Paul Goldschmidt, Collin Cowgill and Konrad Schmidt, all expected to play at Double-A or above, have each hit a home run.

D-Backs report

At Salt River Fields

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 5

At the plate: 2B Ryan Roberts had two more hits – he’s 5 for 7 in the Cactus League – and 1B Paul Goldschmidt had another hit, making him 4 for 7. RF Justin Upton singled to right field in the fourth for the Diamondbacks’ first hit, showing a willingness to let the ball travel, something manager Kirk Gibson said he has noticed from Upton in spring training.

On the mound: RHPs Armando Galarraga and Barry Enright threw two innings apiece. Galarraga gave up two runs on three hits and tried to barehand a comebacker hit by the Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon in the first inning. Galarraga said he was fine and that his hand was wrapped with gauze for precautionary reasons. Enright gave up just one hit and registered a strikeout in two scoreless innings. RHP David Hernandez threw his second scoreless inning so far, retiring the side in order; he has retired six of the seven batters he has faced.

Diamondbacks record: 1-3.

Tuesday: Diamondbacks LHP Joe Saunders vs. Rockies RHP Jason Hammel, 1:10 p.m., Salt River Fields.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Jhoulys Chacin does not have to worry about earning a spot in Colorado’s starting rotation. His first time on the mound this spring was an example of why he has the job sewn up.

The 23-year-old right-hander threw two hitless innings Monday and the Rockies went on to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.

“Of course you want to keep working hard and try not to give up too many runs or walks, but I’m pitching more relaxed than last year,” he said.

Chacin, under orders to work on his fastball command in the offseason, threw only two sliders and one changeup. The rest were fastballs.

“I was trying to throw my fastball for a strike,” he said. “If they get a base hit or a run, that happens. I just didn’t want to walk anybody.”

Rockies manager Jim Tracy said he is impressed with the evolution of the young Venezuelan, who started last season in the minors but eventually cracked the rotation, going 9-11 with a 3.28 ERA for the Rockies.

“You’re seeing a kid that’s just evolving into becoming somebody that has a chance to be special,” Tracy said. “That’s what you’re watching with this kid.”

The only batter to reach against Chacin was Justin Uptown, who got there on an error by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Chacin promptly picked off Upton at first.

Esmil Rogers relieved Chacin and gave up a hit in two scoreless innings. Huston Street gave up a run in one inning in his first outing of the spring. Brandon Allen, in the fight for the first base job for Arizona, singled against Street and stole second. He advanced to third on Street’s wild pitch, then scored on a groundout.

Armando Galarraga, whose perfect game for Detroit was ruined by an imperfect umpiring call last season, gave up a run with the second hitter of the game still at the plate — a scene reminiscent of the last-place Diamondbacks of the past two seasons.

Leadoff batter Dexter Fowler singled, then stole second. Shortstop Geoff Blum dropped the throw from catcher Henry Blanco, allowing Fowler to take third. Fowler scored on Galarraga’s wild pitch.

Jonathan Herrera tripled down the right-field line, then scored when Charlie Blackmon grounded out.

Top Arizona prospect Jarrod Parker pitched for the first time this spring after missing all of last season following reconstructive elbow surgery. The hard-throwing 22-year-old right-hander struck out Matt Pagnozzi, then walked three of the next four batters to load the bases.

He escaped the jam when Tulowitzki popped out to right.

Parker, whose fastball hits the mid-to-upper 90s, said he let it loose a few times, then reined it in only to have even more control problems. But he was pleased with how he was able to get out of trouble, especially against a hitter of Tulowitzk’s caliber.

While he most likely will start the season at Double-A Mobile and come up to the big club a couple of months into the season, Parker says he considers himself a contender for one of the two spots available in Arizona’s rotation to start the season.

Read More: 2011 spring training, Todd Helton (1B – COL), Troy Tulowitzki (SS – COL), Ian Stewart (3B – COL), Jonathan Herrera (2B – COL), Carlos Gonzalez (LF – COL), Matt Pagnozzi (C – COL), Chris Nelson (SS – COL), Dexter Fowler (CF – COL), Jhoulys Chacin (P – COL), Cole Garner (LF – COL), Charlie Blackmon (CF – COL), Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks

The Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks play the second game at Salt River Fields on Monday afternoon. The Rockies took the first game in 10 innings, 8-7, on the strength of a Charlie Blackmon solo home run in the top half of the extra frame.

Today, Jhoulys Chacin starts on the mound for the Rockies. He is expected to be the No. 2 pitcher for the Rockies this season.

The Rockies’ official Twitter feed has the starting lineup for the game:

CF Dexter Fowler
2B Jonathan Herrera
RF Charlie Blackmon
SS Troy Tulowitzki
1B Todd Helton
3B Chris Nelson
LF Cole Garner
C Matt Pagnozzi
P Chacin

Helton makes his spring debut while both Carlos Gonzalez and Ian Stewart will sit out this game. Gonzalez and Stewart collided with each other in Saturday’s game, leading to an MCL sprain for the latter. He will be out for a week.

Blackmon makes his first start of the spring, as well as Garner and Herrera. Garner went 2-for-3 with a run scored and had a nice throw in Saturday’s game. Herrera went 3-for-3 (all singles) and drew a walk.

While FSN Rocky Mountain originally planned to have coverage of this game, it appears that that will no longer be the case.

Diamondbacks right-hander Josh Collmenter always has felt normal throwing a baseball, no different from anybody else. It wasn’t until his mom broke out a video camera during his senior year in high school that he realized there was very little normal about his delivery.

Collmenter isn’t entirely sure how he began to throw with such an unusual, straight over-the-top delivery. But when he thinks back to his childhood, he wonders if the time he spent with his brothers throwing tomahawks at tree stumps in the woods might have had something to do with it.

Wait . . . tomahawks? Really?

“Yeah,” he insists. “We would throw tomahawks, do some competitions. I don’t know if it developed from that, but that’s the way my arm naturally works. I know it’s different from everybody in this room, but it’s still been effective.”

When seeing him pantomiming a tomahawk thrower, his theory doesn’t sound as crazy. His hand and arm run along the side of his head, sort of like he’s throwing darts, and when he pitches, his arm action isn’t too dissimilar.

Collmenter, 25, doesn’t throw hard, but his funkiness has put him on the cusp of the big leagues. After reaching Triple-A last season and pitching well in the Arizona Fall League, the Diamondbacks added him to their 40-man roster. He’s expected to begin the season in Triple-A Reno’s starting rotation.

Listening to hitters who have faced him, it’s as if he’s a magician pulling a rabbit out from behind his head.

When going through his delivery, Collmenter looks normal until his he turns his hips and his pitching hand and glove break. Suddenly, he rocks backward, almost off-balance, and thrusts his shoulder and glove skyward, like he’s climbing a staircase.

Then comes the strangest part – his arm angle. Instead of throwing from about 10 o’clock, like most right-handed pitchers, he’s at nearly 12 o’clock, allowing him to hide the ball as long as possible.

“A lot of people consider me a right-handed lefty,” he said. “They say it comes out from the side where a lefty should throw.”

That deception is the reason he’s able to get by with a fastball that sometimes barely cracks 85 mph. That, and a change-up that further confounds hitters, coming from the same arm slot and dropping like a rock just before reaching home plate. Teammates call it an “invisiball.”

“He’s the funnest guy to catch just listening to what hitters have to say,” said catcher Konrad Schmidt, who has paired with Collmenter in the minors. “The first time they see a change-up they’re like, ‘What was that?’ They’ll say, ‘Was that a screwball?’ Just off-the-wall stuff.”

Diamondbacks prospect Collin Cowgill, who because of a quirk got to face Collmenter in a minor-league All-Star Game, said he’s one of a kind.

“You don’t ever see somebody throw that far over the top,” Cowgill said. “And he throws all his pitches from the same spot.”

Growing up in tiny Homer, Mich., he’d go out into the woods toting BB guns with his brothers, and around age 10 or 11 he started throwing tomahawks. He said he never won any competitions, but he has to imagine it helps explain his throwing motion.

“I’d thrown (a baseball) before, so I don’t know when it happened or if I’d throw different otherwise,” he said. “But I guess that’s a part of the story.”

Collmenter has encountered plenty of doubters within baseball, but as long as he keeps getting outs – he has a career 3.52 ERA in the minors with 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings – he’ll keep moving up.

“I’ve always had to prove people wrong, prove that I can get people out at every level,” he said. “That’s something I wanted to prove to the organization, that no matter where you put me I can work hard and still be able to do my job well.”

Closer J.J. Putz hasn’t pitched in a spring-training game, and he isn’t listed on the pitching schedule posted outside the Diamondbacks’ clubhouse at Salt River Fields.

But Putz said there’s no reason to worry. He feels fine. This is just the way he prepares for a season.

Putz said he’ll pitch his first exhibition game March 7, and is planning to get “eight or nine innings” of work before Opening Day.

“That’s all I need,” he said.

He said he learned in previous spring trainings that too many innings can be “overkill.” In the meantime, Putz has been throwing long-toss and side sessions.

Manager Kirk Gibson, who said Putz feels “great,” seems to have no problem with the schedule.

“He knows what he has to do,” Gibson said. “He’s throwing the ball great. . . . Different people like to do it different ways.”

Contract factors

After Joe Saunders, Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson, the Diamondbacks say they have a handful of pitchers competing for the final two spots in the starting rotation.

Despite pitchers Zach Duke ($4.25 million) and Armando Galarraga ($2.3 million) being owed significant salaries, the club’s top baseball voices continue to insist that contracts won’t factor into who makes the team.

Gibson has been saying as much all spring, and General Manager Kevin Towers on Sunday was asked if contracts will play a role in the starting rotation.

“No,” he said. “Not at all.”

During his years as the Padres’ GM, Towers became known for making March acquisitions, but he said he doesn’t anticipate adding to his roster this year.

“I think what we have right here in camp should be sufficient unless we have an injury,” he said. “If anything, we might have some excess, some depth in certain areas. So other teams might hit us. I would imagine that our pro scouts are spending more time on the minor-league fields.”

Professor Nagy

Gibson said he has “a lot” of nicknames already for new pitching coach Charles Nagy but was willing to share only one with reporters: The Professor.

During the team’s FanFest at Chase Field this month, Gibson was sitting next to Nagy and signing autographs for fans.

“All of a sudden I hear out of my right ear, ‘Hey, how many degrees in a right angle?’ Kid goes, ‘Ninety.’ (Then Nagy asked) acute and obtuse? So I just call him, ‘The Professor.’ “

It’s always nice to win, no matter how much we claim these games don’t matter. If you are going to play these exhibition games, you might was well get a “W”, right? The Diamondbacks did that today thanks to a big eighth inning that propelled them to a 4-3 win over the World Champion San Francisco Giants. 

Today’s D-backs starters were both shaky as Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson combined to give up all three of the days runs in their first four innings of work. Kennedy was responsible for two thanks to a leadoff double and a walk that were driven in by a pair of singles. Hudson gave up a homer to Big Pablo Sandoval in the fourth.

Offensively, the Snakes saved all their striking power for the eight inning. AZ Snakepit has the call (along with a recap of the rest of the game):

It was the eighth inning which turned the game around for the Diamondbacks, plundering five hits and a walk off a pair of Giants relievers. Konrad Schmidt broke up the shutout with a lead-off home-run, and one out later, Ryan Roberts worked a walk.

Yesterday’s hero, Paul Goldschmidt, came off the bench and delivered a key double down the left-field line, becoming the tying run in scoring position, and Juan Miranda dumped a single into right, tying the score at three. He came around to score, following a pair of singles from A.J. Pollock and Tony Abreu, scoring what proved to be the winning run for Arizona.

Goldschmidt is now 3-5 with two doubles and a home run. This three RBI and eight total bases lead the team through three games. He’s on pace to record 783 (roughly estimated) RBI by Opening Day.   

The D-backs are back at it with a home game against the Rockies at 1 p.m. on Monday.