SURPRISE, Ariz. - There is no understating the importance of newcomer Rodrigo Lopez to the Rockies rotation.

Someone has to replace the 200-plus innings Jason Jennings provided, rack up a double-figure victory total and, most important, be seen by teammates as steady and dependable when he takes the mound.

That someone, the Rockies hope, will be Lopez.

To be sure, the Rockies vitally need continued improvement at the top of the rotation from Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis. But the blueprint for a successful season includes quality outings, and plenty of them, from Lopez, 31, who was acquired from Baltimore in January for two minor league pitchers after a horrendous season with the Orioles.

Lopez has a wide assortment of pitches, a huge plus. But he has enough velocity to create trouble for himself if he relies solely on that.

Or as pitching coach Bob Apodaca said, "He throws hard enough that it can get him in trouble. And that's what I want him to avoid. What I want him to think is, 'The more trouble I'm in, the lower I pitch.' Where velocity isn't the paramount issue. Lowness in the strike zone is the critical objective."

Down-and-dirty lowness to be specific. Before Lopez made his third spring training start Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals, Apodaca told him, "Let's see how well we can stay from the catcher's glove down. Try to have nothing above the catcher's glove when he sets (up) behind the plate."

Lopez worked five innings in a 6-2 loss against the Royals, allowing three runs and six hits.

He gave up a two-run home run in the third inning to Mark Teahan - the hit followed a double to right-center field that could have been caught - and yielded a two-out, run-scoring triple in the fourth by John Buck.

"Couple times he got hurt, tried to get the ball in and overthrew it and got the ball up a little bit," manager Clint Hurdle said. "I thought all in all he made some nice improvement."

Namely because in his 82-pitch outing, Lopez got nine of his 15 outs on groundballs. It was different from Saturday, when Lopez gave up five runs in the first inning to the San Diego Padres, an outburst that included Terrmel Sledge's leadoff home run and a two-run shot by Josh Bard.

"I'm pretty happy about the progress I made from the other start," Lopez said. "I was able to do what I was practicing in the bullpen. . . . I got nine groundball outs, and that's a big thing. Now the next step is to be aware of the little details that's going to help my team to win, like keep the runner close, pitch selection and (getting) good counts.

"I feel like I'm in good shape right now. There's still three weeks to go and I'm getting where I want to be."

Lopez wants no part of where he was last year. He went 9-18 with a 5.90 ERA, taking the long fall from Baltimore's Opening Day starter for the third time in four seasons to losing more than any pitcher in the majors.

Having won 15 games twice and 14 in another season while competing in the American League East, there's little question Lopez has ability.

His repertoire includes a four-seam fastball that can reach 93 mph, a two-seam fastball in the 85- to 87-mph range, a changeup, cut fastball and slider.

"He's got the assortment of pitches," Apodaca said. "It's just getting them in good sequences. I was led to believe when he did struggle, his fastball got very flat and up. The usual reasons for it - guys usually try to overthrow. They try to fight themselves out of jams. That's the cornered- in-the-alley type approach, and we just can't afford that."

The Rockies are paying Lopez $4,325,000 this season, the highest salary among their starting pitchers. His contract only goes through this year.

It could be a decent investment for the Rockies, assuming Lopez, as he mostly did Wednesday, tries to wiggle and not muscle his way out of sticky situations.

"I tried to emphasize when he gets in trouble we go lower, we don't go harder," Apodaca said. "From his last game (where) he was very flat trajectorywise, got hurt in the first inning, the goal was to see how well he could stay within himself and create some plane with his pitches. And he got groundballs. You get nine groundball outs, that's telling me you have real late life downstairs."

Today's game

Rockies (Jason Hirsh) vs. Athletics (Rich Harden), 2:05 p.m. MDT, Hi Corbett Field (FSN Rocky Mountain, no radio).

etkinj@RockyMountainNews.com