Rockies pitcher Jhoulys Chacin allowed seven runs in 4 2/3 innings Tuesday at Coors Field. (Barry Gutierrez, The Associated Press)

No defense exists. No explanation will suffice. The Rockies must option Jhoulys Chacin to the minors. He has left them no choice. This isn’t a demotion. It’s an act of mercy.

Chacin was given the ball Tuesday night and asked to make a statement. His performance screamed for a SuperShuttle ticket to Triple-A Colorado Springs, switching spots with right-hander Alex White, after he allowed a career-high seven earned runs in a 7-6 loss to the Dodgers at Coors Field.

Where adjectives fail, numbers succeed. Chacin has three victories in his past 21 starts dating to last season. He’s 3-13 with a 5.14 ERA during that span. This is not an aberration, a bad night, a strike-squeezing ump. Chacin needs to leave so he can return as himself. The Braves are pursuing a similar track with former ace Jair Jurrjens. It’s jarring, but necessary.

Everything set up for Chacin to put his foot down Tuesday. Instead, he put his foot firmly out the door in the loss to the Dodgers.

There was no driving rain, as in his last start at Coors Field. No sun burning the retina of his left fielder, like his last outing at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

This was a postcard-perfect night. And Chacin clumsily spilled Ragu all over the mound. Chacin allowed a leadoff homer to shortstop Dee Gordon (he has one more than Albert Pujols, for those counting at home). Moments later Andre Ethier rifled a shot over the fence, leaving the Rockies in a 4-0 hole before the first out had been recorded.

The Rockies battled back from the 7-0 hole to get the tying run at third in the ninth but fell short, the hole Chacin put them in too big to dig out from. Part of the problem is Chacin’s weight. Or management’s unhappiness with his offseason conditioning, which, by all accounts wasn’t an issue from the moment he arrived in spring training. This is about performance. Chacin isn’t giving the Rockies a chance to win, a demoralizing slide that is compounded by struggling rookie Drew

The Dodgers’ Tony Gwynn Jr. steals second base under the tag of Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

Pomeranz following him in the rotation.

He has forced the Rockies to call up White, who pitched late Tuesday night for the Sky Sox. White owns a 2.70 ERA and, while awful during his big-league cameo last year, he has demonstrated a better sinker and changeup over the last month.

At this point, the Rockies can farm out Chacin or pay ransom to the person that kidnapped the right-hander because this Chacin bears no resemblance to the promising rookie in 2010 and the pitcher who anchored the rotation for 10 weeks last season.

He is naked on the mound, left with no weapons. Once armed with a late-sinking 93 mph fastball, he consistently sits at 89 mph, and the pitch lacks finish. His changeup is terrific, but hitters eliminate it because he’s constantly behind in the count. His slider is no different. They stick their nose up at the pitch. It still breaks, but is typically so far off the plate hitters can check their swings.

There was a reason that the Rockies didn’t give Chacin a long-term contract last winter. They were concerned about how he finished last season. The free fall began when he experienced forearm tightness in Chicago on June 27. Until that point he was bucking for an all-star berth, owning an 8-4 record with a 2.71 ERA. Spring training brought biceps tendinitis and a finger blister, both of which were used to rationalize his lack of fastball velocity.

He might not be hurt. But he’s not right. His pitches have gone from electric to acoustic. Chacin previously owned the Dodgers at Coors Field, having shut them out over 15 consecutive innings.

Tuesday, one of the biggest rounds of applause came when Rockies manager Jim Tracy removed Chacin.

His next start will be against a California team. For his sake, it needs to be versus Fresno, not in San Diego.

Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1294 or trenck@denverpost.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Closer Rafael Betancourt is a notoriously slow starter, with his second half of the season almost always outshining his first. Noting that, the Rockies’ plan was to get Betancourt out of the gate quickly this spring.

That plan took a detour in the ninth inning Saturday against the Dodgers.

Betancourt, missing location with his fastball and leaving the ball over the heart of the plate, was pounded for four runs on five hits as the Dodgers erased a 6-2 deficit, although Tim Wheeler hit a walk-off homer to give the Rockies an 8-6 victory.

A misplaced Betancourt changeup nearly left the park, but a great catch by right fielder Charlie Blackmon avoided yet another hit.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Drew Pomeranz’s first hiccup this spring had nothing to do with his arm.

Pomeranz pitched two more scoreless innings before leaving with tightness in his right hip and the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 on Tuesday.

Considered a top prospect, Pomeranz was acquired by the Rockies last summer in the trade that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland. The 23-year-old left-hander, drafted fifth overall in 2010, is a projected member of Colorado’s rotation this season after making four starts for the Rockies last year.

Pomeranz has showed his talent all spring, tossing seven shutout innings. He retired all six batters he faced Tuesday, but had to leave earlier than expected. He was scheduled to pitch another inning or two but came out of the game because of his hip.

“It was tight warming up. It stayed stiff. I could have still pitched but there’s no point in pushing it,” Pomeranz said. “It’s nothing serious. Just a little tightness. If I had to pitch, I could still pitch. I’m not worried about it.”

Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with his arm.

“I felt great out there,” Pomeranz said, adding that his command was the best he’s had “in a long time.”

Without trying, Pomeranz said he’s developed a natural cut fastball, a pitch that breaks in to right-handers.

“Sometime last spring it started naturally cutting and staying for strikes,” Pomeranz said.

The Rockies got a close look at Pomeranz late last season, when he went 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 18 1-3 innings.

“We thought he was a really, really good pitcher when we saw him last September,” manager Jim Tracy said. “This spring is a little bit better than we saw last September.”

Dodgers starter Chris Capuano sailed through the first inning and had two outs with nobody on in the second. Then he ran into trouble. He gave up a walk and hit a batter before Eric Young Jr. slapped a run-scoring single and Jonathan Herrera knocked in two more runs with a single.

Tracy praised a long leadoff at-bat by Young, who worked his way back from 0-2 to 3-2 before he was called out on strikes.

“I personally think even though he got called out on ball four, the leadoff at-bat of the game was tremendous,” Tracy said. “I think that helped shorten Chris Capuano’s outing, no question.”

Scott Van Slyke tripled for the Dodgers. Tony Gywnn Jr. and Tim Federowicz doubled.

Fernando Nieve pitched 2 1-3 innings of scoreless relief, prompting manager Don Mattingly to say Nieve is a candidate for the team’s final bullpen spot.

“He’s a little different as a starter and reliever,” Mattingly said. “He’s more of a power guy when you get him out of the `pen. … He’s interesting.”

The Dodgers stumbled in the field, committing four errors — three by middle infielders.

Still, Mattingly said he feels good about his middle-infield defense, which includes Dee Gordon at shortstop and Mark Ellis at second base. The backups figure to be Jerry Hairston Jr., who made two errors at shortstop, and Adam Kennedy.

“I think those guys are all real comfortable,” Mattingly said, while acknowledging Hairston and Kennedy are both more comfortable at second base.

On the other side, Tracy was happy with his team’s baserunning.

“The biggest thing that jumped out at me today was how we ran the bases,” he said. “That’s as well as we’ve done it all spring — aggressive, taking the extra base, forcing the issue. It was really fun to watch.”

NOTES: Michael Cuddyer will play first base for Colorado on Wednesday night in a split-squad game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields. Tracy said he also wants Cuddyer to get the experience of shifting from the outfield to first base during games. … The Dodgers entered with the National League’s lowest spring ERA at 3.11. They also ranked third in the NL with a .290 batting average and first with a .377 on-base percentage. … Andre Ethier made a great running catch in the right-field corner on a drive off the bat of Colorado’s Chris Nelson.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)