Colorado @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 21, 2010 ) Colorado 4, Washington 6
Can Ubaldo Jimenez throw his second straight no-hitter?
It’s doubtful that the Colorado right-hander can do that Thursday afternoon against the Nationals, but those who love baseball history will certainly be watching to see how he does after throwing a no-hitter last Saturday in Atlanta.
Jimenez has been one of baseball’s top pitchers in the first three weeks and was named the National League Player of the Week last week. He’s 3-0 with a miniscule 1.29 ERA.
The other question is, how will he throw? During the no-hitter the Colorado coaches changed Jimenez’s motion, making his throw completely from the stretch after he had all kinds of control troubles early. The move worked. He retired the final 12 batters—or Jimenez might not have even been able to finish his own no-hitter.
At the very least, Jimemez should take some pressure off a bullpen that’s been too busy. He’ll eat a bunch of innings and help the relievers relax.
But right now, the Rockies must find a way to get some key hits. They’ve had problems with that in the series. They left 11 on base in Wednesday’s 6-4 loss and went only 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The Nationals keep coming up with clutch hits. They’ve been able to do that this season more often than not even though several players haven’t hit well. Adam Dunn has struggled all season, but he got a big two-run double Wednesday to help Washington rally from an early 3-0 deficit.
Wil Nieves is the backup catcher, but he got what turned out to be the game-winning hit in the eighth inning. That’s been the Washington way this season.
The Nationals have gotten the best kind of help from Livan Hernandez. The veteran right-hander has been nearly perfect so far this year. He is 2-0 and hasn’t allowed a run in 16 innings.
Hernandez completely befuddled Milwaukee in an 8-0 victory last Saturday. He only got into one real jam in the game and just kept changing speeds and locations. The Brewers just never really figured him out.
Injuries are starting to cause Washington some problems. Ryan Zimmerman got hurt again in Wednesday’s game. He got a double in the seventh but was in pain and came out right away. He missed most of last week with a hamstring problem.
Jason Marquis is already on the shelf. Marquis was put there Wednesday to rest a shoulder that apparently has been bothering him.