Rockies' Jimenez cools Dodgers
Complete-game gem continues strong run in July
By Jack Etkin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published July 22, 2008 at 9:11 p.m.
Photo by David Zalubowski
Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez gave up one run, on a Matt Kemp home run in the ninth inning, to the Dodgers on Tuesday. He had four strikeouts and yielded four hits and two walks.
Moment: The Rockies batted around against left-hander Clayton Kershaw and scored four runs in the third to go ahead 5-0. They loaded the bases with one out when Chris Iannetta singled home two runs, and he took second and Garrett Atkins moved to third when right fielder Matt Kemp couldn't cleanly field Iannetta's hit. After Troy Tulowitzki was intentionally walked to load the bases, Ian Stewart drove in two runs with a single.
Player: Ubaldo Jimenez pitched his first career complete game and won for the fourth time in five starts this month. He didn't allow a runner to reach second base until Nomar Garciaparra led off the eighth with a double and held the Dodgers scoreless until Kemp started the ninth with a home run to straightaway center field.
Stat: 10 RBI in four games for Ian Stewart since being recalled Saturday. He went 3-for-3 with a two-run single, home run and sacrifice fly and is batting 9-for-17 with three doubles since being recalled. The left-handed hitting Stewart is 7-for-9 against left- handed pitchers in his past three games.
For the better part of three months, Ubaldo Jimenez kept the Rockies in most games he started with little to show for it and the realization that with better luck, he might have finished June with more than two wins.
The penance Jimenez paid for so long this season ended when July rolled around. He has been very good this month, but never better than Tuesday when he threw the first complete game of his career in his 38th start as the Rockies pushed around the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-1.
Jimenez held the Dodgers to four hits and didn't allow a runner to reach second base until Nomar Garciaparra led off the eighth with a double. Jimenez ended the inning by inducing his second double play of the game, allowing him to take the mound in the ninth.
How much did Jimenez want a shutout, which vanished when Matt Kemp started the ninth with a home run?
"I was starving for it," he said.
The shutout gone, Jimenez returned to the business at hand, finishing with 114 pitches (73 strikes). He retired 13 consecutive batters after Russell Martin's two-out single in the first and got 18 of 27 outs on groundballs.
The Rockies scored 10 runs for the second consecutive game against the Dodgers and banged out 18 hits, two fewer than Monday when Kip Wells' first-inning disaster put his teammates in an inescapable eight-run hole.
Jimenez took the mound Tuesday with the Rockies needing a victory to have any hope of winning the series today.
"It was just good that he put his foot down in a game we needed to have," manager Clint Hurdle said.
Jimenez, 24, has made five consecutive quality starts (allowing no more than three earned runs in at least six innings) this month and is 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA in those outings.
"He's growing up right before your eyes," Hurdle said. "He's focused. He's preparing well. His command continues to improve. He had command of three quality pitches (Tuesday)."
Jimenez walked only two of the 31 batters he faced and said the complete game was "a dream come true. Since I got to the big leagues last year, I always dream about it."
Jimenez said the key to his success was "really being aggressive, just going after hitters. Make them swing the bat."
That's something the Rockies did with regularity against left-hander Clayton Kershaw, 20, who was recalled from Double-A Jacksonville (Fla.) to make the start, his eighth of the season for the Dodgers, and who left after facing three batters in the fourth.
The Rockies' offensive barrage included solo home runs by Brad Hawpe, who went 3-for-5, in the second and Ian Stewart in the fifth.
While batting around in the third, the Rockies broke open the game with four runs, a rally that included a two-run single by Chris Iannetta and another by Stewart, who went 3-for-3 with four RBI and has driven in 10 runs in four games since returning from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Jeff Baker went 4-for-5, tying a career high for hits in a game, and every player in the lineup except Jimenez got a hit.
But he received a standing ovation from the crowd of 41,567 when he came to bat and made the final out in a four-run eighth.
Pointing to his forearm, Jimenez said of the ovation, "I got chicken bumps."
Troy Tulowitzki singled in the second, giving him hits in six consecutive bats. He finished 2-for-4 in his second game since coming off the disabled list.
Before the game, Hurdle agreed Tulowitzki hitting seventh and Stewart hitting eighth offered an enticing possibility to lengthen the lineup.
But with such a small sample size, Hurdle understandably wanted to reserve judgment until seeing more of the two of them in tandem at the bottom of the order.
Nonetheless, Tulowitzki and Stewart have combined to go 13-for-18 in the two games against the Dodgers.
And Stewart, for his part, sensed the damage he and Tulowitzki can do together down in the order.
"I don't think me or 'Tulo' will be bunting down there," Stewart said. "We're all swinging the bat well, the whole team. We're all driving the ball."
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July 22, 2008
10:23 p.m.
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platoro79 writes:
Cook and Ubbie and then might as well roll a doobie!
July 22, 2008
10:42 p.m.
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1somelikeithot writes:
Probably the best Rockies game I've seen all season, good pitching, good hitting and good fielding. They had it all going for them tonite. This is what I've been waiting for. Hope it continues. WOW.
July 23, 2008
5:27 a.m.
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wilburM writes:
it's amazing how you're only as good as your next starting pitcher.
July 23, 2008
9:19 a.m.
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ofcourse writes:
That means Taco's....right???
July 23, 2008
9:41 a.m.
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fjv1026 writes:
Now can we please get someone competent to follow Cookie and Jimenez in the back of the rotation? And can we stop all this Kip Wells "next start" nonsense?
July 23, 2008
9:47 a.m.
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BMat writes:
It's ROCK-uly!
July 23, 2008
9:57 a.m.
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buffsblg writes:
Like everyone else, I am frustrated at being back to talking about "potential" on this team, but there are bright spots for the future. Cook is a real number 1, Ianetta and Stewart are showing that their potential may translate to accomplishment, Baker is showing he belongs and Jimenez is rounding into a real live major league starter. I continue to believe that money is a true impediment to consistent winning in this market, but at least we are developing talent. Now if we could just find some starters...
July 23, 2008
11:15 a.m.
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aman writes:
buffsblg,
I disagree with your comment about money in this market. The Rockies will put fans in the seats if they are only competitive. They have had one good season in the past 7, are 14 games under .500, and are still 13th in the majors in attendance. They have averaged more than 40,000 fans in the recent homestand. The team has every capability of making money, they just need to spend it.
July 23, 2008
11:20 a.m.
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arvada_mark writes:
Wow, great effort from everybody. Hawper got another one off of a lefty. It's good to see they are finally leaving him in there, regardless of the other team's starter. It's nice to give it back to the Dodgers. They want to put up 16 on us, well, we can top that; & we did.
I'd still rather see Barmes in there at 2nd (.300 hitter, moderate power, speed, & very good D), but I don't think even another 3 error game by Baker would get Hurdle to bench him. Plus, he has been swinging the bat well. Baker will probably always be a liability in the field, though. Hurdle has had a special place in his...err...line-up for Baker over the past 3 years now.
July 23, 2008
1:06 p.m.
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buffsblg writes:
aman, While I agree that Rockies fans will come if the team is even the slightest bit competitive, attendance is only a small piece of the pie. What gives Boston, New York, LA etc the big advantage is their TV deals where they get 3 or 4 times what the Rockies make.(the teams do not release numbers, but these are the estimates I have seen.) As long as that money is not shared (as it is in the NFL) then those teams will be able to outspend the smaller market teams. That does not mean that teams cannot win occasionally and compete, it just means that they have to be much better at development and much more careful about how they spend their money. I am still not convinced O'Dowd is good enough or that Hurdle (who I like) is the right guy to make the next step.