SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Jhoulys Chacin blames poor grooming for a blister on his right index finger.

“I just cut my nail too short and I get a blister,” Chacin said. “It’s nothing to worry about. Everything is fine. I’m going to make my next start anyway.”

Chacin pitched three scoreless innings before leaving with the injury and the Colorado Rockies beat a Chicago Cubs split squad 7-5 Thursday.

In good spirits afterward, Chacin said he will make his next start Tuesday against the San Diego Padres.

Cubs second baseman Blake DeWitt also left the game with an injury. He was hit by a pitch on his right arm in the fifth inning. He will be reevaluated.

Cubs starter Rodrigo Lopez gave up two runs and six hits in three innings, striking out two. He stayed in the game after a comebacker hit him in the lower back in the third inning.

The Cubs’ Junior Lake and Colorado’s Wilin Rosario and Jordan Pacheco each hit home runs.

Chacin — who is expected to be the Rockies’ No. 2 starter — said the blister popped up on the tip of his finger when he was throwing in the bullpen before the game. The blister grew as he pitched, so the Rockies pulled him before the fourth inning. He threw 44 pitches, 28 for strikes.

Chacin said he had trouble gripping the ball because of the blister.

“They got all the blood out,” he said. “Tomorrow, we’ll see how it feels.”

Rockies manager Jim Tracy said he expects Chacin to make his next start, and Chacin would have stayed in if it had been a regular-season game.

“Chacin is rounding into form,” Tracy said. “The important thing is his fastball command. For the most part today it was there. When that is there, his breaking stuff is very, very difficult to deal with.”

For the Cubs, Lopez said he was satisfied with his three-inning outing. He’s competing for one of two open spots in the starting rotation.

“I want to make the rotation,” he said. “As long as I have a shot, I’m going to fight for it. At the end, it’s not my decision.”

Lake hit a three-run home run off Christian Fredrich. Rosario smacked a two-run home run off Lopez. Pacheco hit a two-run home run off Alberto Cabrera that gave the Rockies a 6-4 lead in the sixth.

Chicago’s Bryan LaHair went 3 for 5 with a double.

NOTES: Rockies rotation candidate Jamie Moyer will not pitch against minor leaguers Friday because of stiffness in his left leg, Tracy said. . Rockies third baseman Casey Blake looked good in batting practice Thursday, Tracy said. He has been out since Monday because of a stiff neck. He had neck surgery in September. .Starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz will pitch against minor leaguers Wednesday rather than his scheduled start Sunday because of stiffness in his hip. .

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

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.)

MESA, Ariz. (AP) – Alfonso Soriano hit two home runs and a double to send Dale Sveum and the Chicago Cubs to an 11-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.

It was Sveum’s first victory since he was hired to manage the Cubs in November.

“It’s better than being 0-3,” Sveum said. “You score eight, nine, 10, 11 runs all the time, you’re bound to win one.”

Soriano led off the Cubs’ four-run second inning with a drive that hit halfway up the scoreboard in left field. He led off the third with a double to the wall in center and added a two-run homer in a four-run fifth.

“I’m a little surprised,” Soriano said. “It’s only the second game and I’m starting to feel good with my swing and my timing. Normal spring, it takes me like 20, 25 at-bats before I feel good.”

Guillermo Moscoso (1-0) gave up four runs and five hits in two innings for Colorado.

Cubs right-hander Matt Garza (1-0), who is being considered for the opening-day start, allowed two runs and three hits over two innings in his spring debut.

“He gave up a couple of runs, but at least the ball was coming out of his hand (well), and he was keeping the ball down,” said Sveum, who added that Garza didn’t use his slider as he worked on his changeup. “I think he probably could have got out of those jams if he’d used his slider. He looked sharp.”

The Cubs’ top outfield prospect, Brett Jackson, hit a three-run homer in the second inning and added a walk. He has made an impressive early showing, including a pair of home runs in two intrasquad games over the weekend.

But the Cubs already have a starting outfield of Soriano, Marlon Byrd and David DeJesus, and Sveum said Jackson isn’t considered a bench candidate.

“I don’t think you’re ever going to have a kid like that not play,” he said. “He hasn’t played a full year of Triple-A. He’s either going to make the team and play every day, or he’s going to be in Triple-A.”

Moscoso, who’s competing for the Rockies’ fifth-starter job, walked two in addition to five hits allowed in his two innings, on a day no Rockies pitcher escaped unscathed.

“Overall we didn’t pitch particularly well today,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “That goes without saying. But on a lot of the other things we did today, I thought we had a very good day.”

That included left fielder Tyler Colvin, who was acquired from the Cubs in a four-player trade in December, going 2-for-3 with a triple and run-scoring groundout.

Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler added a home run off the scoreboard in three at-bats.

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

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Jamie Moyer was encouraged by his performance Friday in an intrasquad game for the Colorado Rockies, his first action against hitters since July 2010.

“Today is kind of like my day of saying, `OK, the arm thing, let’s let it go,’” said Moyer, trying to make a comeback at age 49 after sitting out all of last season following Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.

“It was a little uncomfortable getting out there, it was a little weird for me. But once I threw a couple of pitches, it was like getting back on the bike again,” Moyer said. “And that’s what was fun about it. Then, you look around the infield, and you go, all right, a 20-year-old was at third base, the shortstop was in his early 20s. It was fun.”

The 24-year veteran gave up one earned run and three hits in two innings. He struck out one and didn’t walk a batter. His second inning was crisper than his first.

PHOTO GALLERY: Colorado Rockies Photo Day

Afterward, Moyer said he was thrilled with his short outing even though it didn’t include any of his trademark cut fastballs, which he said he’s not strong enough to throw yet.

“I’m pleased with today. I’m not excited about it, but I’m pleased, and it’s forward progress and that’s what I need to ask of myself,” he said.

Moyer threw 42 pitches, 27 for strikes, and said he wasn’t worried about the workload.

“I felt like I could have kept going,” he said. “I threw probably 50-60 pitches in my bullpen the other day, which was good. I just feel like, you know what, if I’m going to be here, I’m going to push myself and it’s going to take me where it’s going to take me.

“If I gently try to get myself through and act like I’m hurt, I don’t think I’m going to give myself a good enough opportunity. I’m here, I’m going to have fun with it and enjoy it.”

Moyer’s last action against live hitting was on July 20, 2010, at St. Louis when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies. He left after one inning that day with a left elbow strain, which was later diagnosed as a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

He underwent Tommy John elbow-tendon replacement surgery and served as an ESPN analyst last season. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies with a shot to make their roster this spring.

- By Arnie Stapleton, AP Sports Writer

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)