Finally, after an interminable 255 days and nights since Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez' last win, a sigh of relief as the 300-pound gorilla was cast off his back. A tidy, efficient and dominating 106-pitch complete game 3-0 shutout of the Los Angeles Dodgers. No walks, 7 strikeouts, 12 ground ball outs and 8 flyouts. His fastball command and velocity were outstanding, reminiscent of his performance, pre-All Star Game, last season. Mix in the sweeping 76 mph 12 to 6 curve, the 87 mph biting slider and the split finger change-up, all for strikes, well, it sorta brings tears to my eyes. I was talking about optimism yesterday, this was a positive note to build upon, as the Rockies will have a day off tomorrow before a three-game set with the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
The Rockies began the game with, what I feel, is nearly their best lineup: RF Seth Smith, 2B Jonathan Herrera, LF Carlos Gonzalez, SS Troy Tulowitzki, 1B Todd Helton, 3B Ty Wigginton, C Jose Morales and CF Dexter Fowler. Chris Iannetta is still the better overall catcher, but Morales caught and called a great game tonight. And didn't Jimenez seem to have excellent success with Miguel Olivo behind the plate last year and Yorvit Torrealba the year before? Is it a Latin thing? The Rox played flawless defense behind Ubaldo, and the Dodgers never really mounted a serious threat to score, as only one Dodger advanced as far as second base, and that was with one out in the ninth inning. As a second baseman, Eric Young, Jr. is a great outfielder, and as an outfielder, he's a decent second baseman. But the batted ball and important relay throws seem to find him and reveal his lack of seasoning, defensively. Jonathan Herrera is still our best bet at second base and batting 2nd, not Dexter. Keep Dex in the 8-spot, until he learns to cut down on his strikeouts.
And, guess what? Two successful sacrifice bunts in the same game! One, by Jon Herrera in the 3rd pushed Seth Smith to third base after Smith led off the frame with a double into the right field corner. CarGo followed with a sacrifice fly and RBI, Colorado's second run of the game. Their first run came in the 2nd inning as Wigginton led off with a triple that eluded a diving attempt by Dodger CF Matt Kemp. Morales promptly drove in Wiggy with a sacrifice fly to centerfield. The second bunt, by Jimenez in the 7th, did not lead to a run, but kept the Dodgers from executing a double play, and put runners on at 2nd and 3rd with only one out. The Rockies did not score because they fell victim to the dreaded 'contact play', again, as Smith hit a sharp grounder to Dodger 1B James Loney who threw to C Rod Barajas to easily catch Morales running in from 3rd. On three occasions in the last three weeks, the outs at home plate on the contact play were devastating to the struggling Rockies. Not tonight.
Todd Helton capped off the Rockies' scoring by pounding a home run over the right field fence leading off the 4th inning. It was Helton's 7th of the year, a mark he didn't reach until September 22nd last year (he had a total of 8 all season). It was also his 23rd RBI, which didn't come until August 25th of the 2010 season. He now has 340 career homers and 1,262 RBIs on 2,284 hits in his amazing tenure in the purple pinstripes.
A dominant Ubaldo Jimenez, seamless defense, timely and productive at-bats, no walks allowed, only 3 strikeouts by position players, Tulo hitting the cover off the ball consistently (even though he only had one hit).........these are optimistic signs. Maybe the Rockies should skip pre-game batting practice more often, like they did today. Only one real negative from tonight's win --- 11 runners left on base. Nit-picking, I know. Still, 3 runs ain't enough to win most games, as I've chronicled previously.
Now, if Juan Nicasio can avoid the sophomore start jinx and jitters, if Tulo's hard smashes start finding some turf or fence or seats instead of leather, if manager Jim Tracy doesn't meddle with the lineup, maybe, just maybe the Colorado Rockies can craft a two-game winning streak! And I can avoid another entire blog without the effin' f-word.
PS.........Derek Jeter only needs 16 more hits for 3,000, the Red Sox lost and the Yankees are in first. (That was for me and Sara)
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