Rockies’ Jimenez emerges as ace
| August 24, 2009 | 10:54 AM
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The Colorado Rockies look as if they have finally found an ace. After auditioning pitchers like Jason Jennings, Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis for the role, they have finally found the guy who can win a game on his own. Jennings and Cook were always better suited for the middle of the rotation and Francis, who was the key figure for the Rockies in their 2007 run to the World Series, is more of a complementary pitcher than an ace.
Jimenez’s stuff has always fit the bill, now the results do, too. His performance Sunday was pure ace. In a game the Rockies needed to steal from the Giants and their own ace, Jimenez settled in and kept the Rockies in the game long enough for his teammates to wear out Lincecum. When it finally happened in the sixth and seventh innings, Jimenez was just getting going.
- Jimenez pitched eight innings, the fourth time he’s done so in his past five starts.
- He never faced more than five batters in an inning. The only damage was done in the second inning on a two-run home run by Edgar Renteria.
- After a leadoff walk in the third inning, Jimenez retired nine in a row. The Giants’ Pablo Sandoval, who broke up that streak with a single in the sixth inning, was cut down on a strikeout-throw-out double play, effectively extending the streak another inning.
- The eighth inning — Jimenez’s last — was his most impressive. The Rockies had taken a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Giants’ Eugenio Velez led off the eighth with a double. The speedy Velez never scored, despite moving up to third base with one out. Jimenez never flinched, and two groundballs and a lineout ended the Giants’ last threat.
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