De La Rosa allowed one run in four innings and received a no-decision as the Drillers lost 2-1 to Northwest Arkansas before 5,614 fans at ONEOK Field.

The Naturals (23-17), who snapped a 1-all tie on Eric Duncan’s RBI single in the sixth inning, became the first visiting team to sweep a four-game series in ONEOK Field’s three-season history. Tulsa (24-16) had been sweet in a pair of three-game series previously.

Tulsa’s lead in the North Division first-half race is down to one game over the Naturals after it had been seven on May 4. Before this series, the Drillers had been 15-3 at home and Naturals were 3-11 on the road.

It was a good night for De La Rosa, however. De La Rosa allowed three hits, walked three and struck out four in his second rehab start for Tulsa and fourth overall in his comeback from Tommy John-elbow surgery last July. De La Rosa lasted only one inning and gave up four runs last Saturday for Tulsa before departing with some forearm tightness.

“It was way better than last time,” said De La Rosa, who has a 54-49 major league record. “I was a little tired in the last inning, I hadn’t thrown more than 50 pitches (in a game this spring). I feel very good. Today, my arm feels much better.”

De La Rosa finished with 73 pitches, including 43 for strikes. His fastball was primarily in the 88-89 mph range but he twice reached 92 mph, just below his normal velocity.

“It’s going to get better and I’ll get stronger and get my velocity sooner or later,” De La Rosa said.

The past year has gone by slowly for De La Rosa as the Rockies’ starting rotation has struggled.

“One year is too much. No one deserves to be out one year,” De La Rosa said. “It’s hard. I’m going to be back and try to help my team win as many games as I can. They want to make sure I’m OK and I’ve got to keep working on some things.”

De La Rosa allowed a first-inning run as Yem Prades lined a leadoff double and scored on Sharlon Schoop’s bloop single. De La Rosa finished with a 1-2-3 fourth inning.

“The big thing is he got through it healthy and didn’t have the issues he had in that first start so that’s a positive,” Drillers manager Duane Espy said. “He pitched down a lot better and his changeup was very effective. I think it was a step in the right direction.”

De La Rosa’s final two rehab starts are scheduled to be for Triple-A Colorado Springs.

He is slated to rejoin the Rockies on June 2.

Naturals lefty Noel Arguelles (2-3) made it through six innings on 73 pitches as he scattered seven hits. Tulsa’s only run came on Tim Torres’ third-inning RBI single. Arguelles is a Cuban defector who received a $6.9 major league contract when he signed with Kansas City in 2009.

The Naturals’ tiebreaking run came off Cory Riordan (2-1) in a sixth inning that included two runners picked off from scoring position by catcher Jose Gonzalez. In the bottom of the sixth, Tulsa loaded the bases with no outs, but did not score as Angelys Nina lined into an inning-ending double play. The Drillers didn’t threaten again.

Texas League

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Next homestand : Wednesday-May 28

Original Print Headline: Colorado pitcher is pleased with start

Read More: Rodrigo Lopez (P – CHC), Carlos Torres (P – COL), Jhoulys Chacin (P – COL), Wilin Rosario (C – COL), Rex Brothers (P – COL), Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs

Wilin Rosario went 2-3 at the plate and drove in two runs, Jhoulys Chacin pitched three scoreless innings, and the Colorado Rockies prevailed 7-5 over the Chicago Cubs in Cactus League play on Thursday afternoon.

Related: Rockies ST Game Thread: Jhoulys Chacin vs. Rodrigo Lopez

Colorado got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the second inning, and the Cubs would trail until the sixth inning, when they pushed three runs across to take a slim 4-3 lead. But Colorado responded in the bottom half of the sixth to get those three runs right back and claim a 6-4 lead. The two teams traded runs in the seventh, but that was it for the scoring.

Carlos Torres and Rex Brothers pitched a scoreless eighth inning and ninth inning, respectively.

For more coverage of all things Denver sports, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more in-depth coverage of the Rockies, visit Purple Row. For more updates throughout Spring Training, check out Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish.