Helton gets his first hit of spring training - 14 News, WFIE, Evansville, Henderson, Owensboro

Helton gets his first hit of spring training

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  • SPORTS

  • Tuesday, June 18 2013 11:38 PM EDT2013-06-19 03:38:48 GMT
    Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ransom hit back-to-back homers in a four-run first inning and that was plenty for Jeff Samardzija, who pitched the Chicago Cubs over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 Tuesday night. Chicago

    Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ransom hit back-to-back homers in a four-run first inning and that was plenty for Jeff Samardzija, who pitched the Chicago Cubs over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 Tuesday night. 

  • Tuesday, June 18 2013 11:00 PM EDT2013-06-19 03:00:46 GMT
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  • Tuesday, June 18 2013 10:18 PM EDT2013-06-19 02:18:34 GMT
    Pedro Alvarez singled home a pair of runs in the first inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended Mat Latos' streak of 21 regular-season starts without a loss, beating the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 on Tuesday

    Pedro Alvarez singled home a pair of runs in the first inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended Mat Latos' streak of 21 regular-season starts without a loss, beating the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 on Tuesday night.

Todd Helton got his first hit of spring training and Jeff Francis pitched four scoreless innings Tuesday to carry the Colorado Rockies to a 6-2 victory over the Cubs, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Helton, a .320 hitter who was limited to 69 games and hit a career-low .238 while struggling with hip problems last season, gave Colorado a-1-0 lead in the first with an opposite-field ground-rule double. It was only his second spring game and third at-bat, He ground out sharply to the pitcher in his other at-bat.

Francis ran his spring scoreless innings string to nine. The only hit he gave up was bloop single to starter Scott Feldman, who signed as a free agent with the Cubs after six-plus seasons with the Texas Rangers.

Feldman was rocked for four runs on six hits in facing 13 batters in a little over two innings.

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