MLB: Giants win, A's lose in Cactus League action

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Once Buster Posey connected, Jorge De La Rosa knew exactly where the ball was going.

"That's the longest home run I've ever given up," De La Rosa said.

Posey hit a long two-run shot to center field and a sharp single off De La Rosa, helping the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Thursday.

"It's safe to say Buster Posey is a pretty good player," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.

Darren Ford also homered and Ryan Vogelsong threw three hitless innings for the Giants, who won for the third time in four games. Mike Fontenot added three hits, and Emmanuel Burriss had two hits and two RBIs.

De La Rosa allowed four runs and six hits over three innings in his first spring start. The left-hander pitched in an intrasquad game Sunday.

Colorado's Todd Helton doubled for his first hit of the spring.

Posey singled and scored on Burriss' base hit in the second. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year went deep with one out in the third, belting a drive that traveled an estimated 450 feet to straightaway center.

"It's hard to hit a ball much further than that," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He got every bit of that."

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who got a new six-year contract worth $120 million during the offseason, has been impressed with Posey from the start.

"Everybody knows he's real good," Tulowitzki said. "Some guys are just good players. Everything he's done since the beginning has been a class act. To hit a home run off that caliber of pitcher and to the middle of the field is impressive. His other at-bats were solid too. He's a pretty solid player."

Vogelsong walked one and struck out two. He has thrown five shutout innings this spring as he tries to make a major league roster for the first time in five years.

"I've never done anything like that," he said. "It's just bruised a little bit and might be sore tomorrow."

BREWERS EDGE

OAKLAND 11-9

PHOENIX (AP) - Trevor Cahill did a bit better in his return to the mound for the Oakland A's.

Hit hard in his first spring start, the All-Star righty stuck around for 2 1-3 innings Thursday in the Athletics' 11-9 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers nicked Cahill for two earned runs and four hits. His previous outing was a poor one, when he allowed four earned runs and five hits against the Cubs while getting only one out.

"That first game, I kind of rushed things because it was the first game and the adrenaline was flowing," said Cahill, 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA in 30 starts last season. "Today, I was more under control. The pace of the game was better for me."

In between starts, he said he had "worked on a little bit of everything" in regard to his delivery.

"Now I need to start getting my pitch count up and start throwing strikes," he said.

What's his biggest immediate goal?

"Throwing from the windup instead of the stretch," he said with a laugh. "I've been throwing too much out of the stretch so far with all of those guys on base."

Anderson De La Rosa hit a three-run, game-ending homer for the Brewers. The catcher connected with two outs in the ninth.