Colorado @ Atlanta preview
Turner Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 17, 2010 ) Colorado 4, Atlanta 0
Ubaldo Jimenez made history on Saturday night, becoming the first player in the 18-year history of the Colorado Rockies to toss a no-hitter.
Jimenez’s gem was also the first no-no of the 2010 campaign in the majors.
The 26-year-old right-hander was effective as he tallied seven strikeouts and six walks on 128 pitches.
Jimenez has been nothing short of an ace this season, moving his record to 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
While the Braves were unable to solve Jimenez, they will get one last crack against the Rockies in the rubber match of the three-game series on Sunday.
Colorado left-hander Greg Smith will try his hand at containing the opposition in his third start of the year.
Smith is currently 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 12 innings in his comeback season.
He spent all of last season in the minor leagues and has never faced the Braves as he played as a rookie in 2008 with the Oakland Athletics.
The 26-year-old Smith will be opposed by Jair Jurrjens, who hasn’t been pleased with his results on the mound to this point.
Jurrjens is coming off the worst start of his career, allowing a career-high eight runs in 3 1/3 innings against the San Diego Padres. It was uncharacteristic for him considering he had surrendered two or less runs in 27 of his past 35 starts.
There was some concern in the organization that Jurrjens was simply not healthy enough and was being affected by a lingering problem with his right shoulder that he experienced throughout spring training.
But Jurrjens insisted that he was healthy and needed to work out a mechanical flaw. The 24-year old threw a 30-minute bullpen session on Thursday and believes he fixed what was ailing him.
Jurrjens has enjoyed success against the Rockies, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in two starts last year.
In Saturday’s win, Carlos Gonzalez returned from a four-game absence because of a lingering leg injury to record a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Troy Tulowitzki, who remains homerless, drove in his sixth run of the year.
Atlanta’s Martin Prado saw his chance at a piece of the Braves’ record book come to an end as a result of Jimenez’s dominance. Prado fell one hit shy his 20th hit through 11 games, which would have tied the mark owned by Ralph Garr and Deion Sanders.
Still, Prado, who is batting .442, is the first player in Atlanta history to tally 15 hits during the first eight games of a season.