San Francisco @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 3, 2010 ) San Francisco 10, Colorado 0
Ubaldo Jimenez seems to have straightened out whatever issues he was having. Now he’ll try to help the Colorado Rockies rebound from their worst home loss of the season.
Jimenez takes the hill Wednesday as the Rockies wrap up a brief two-game series with the San Francisco Giants, who are streaking toward the top of the National League West standings.
After a rough stretch in which he posted a 7.33 ERA in five starts, Jimenez (16-2, 2.67 ERA) got back on track Thursday against Pittsburgh. He allowed one run and four hits in seven innings of a 9-3 victory, helping the Rockies avoid an embarrassing sweep.
Colorado has come to expect those types of efforts out of its ace. The Rockies have won 11 times when he’s taken the hill following a defeat.
And the team needs him to come through again after it was embarrassed on Tuesday, as the red-hot Giants tied a season high with 19 hits in a 10-0 rout.
If Jimenez can beat the Giants, he will match the franchise’s single-season wins record shared by Kevin Ritz, Pedro Astacio and teammate Jeff Francis.
However, slowing down the Giants isn’t an easy task. San Francisco has won four straight and 22 of its last 28 games to move within a game of NL West-leading San Diego.
In his last start against the Giants, Jimenez was reached for seven runs and five hits in six innings, but didn’t receive a decision in the Rockies’ 11-8 loss on July 3. Prior to that, he threw a four-hitter against San Francisco on May 31.
Overall, Jimenez is 4-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 career starts against San Francisco.
After being shut out for only the fourth time all season, Colorado looks to generate more offense against rookie Madison Bumgarner (4-3, 2.70).
Bumgarner suffered his first loss in over a month Thursday, allowing three runs and six hits in six innings of a 5-0 setback to Florida. The left-hander, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday, had won each of his last four starts, posting a 1.35 ERA in that span.
In his second career start, Bumgarner allowed four runs – three earned – and nine hits in a 7-3 loss to Colorado on July 1.
Buster Posey, Bumgarner's batterymate and former minor league teammate, has been swinging a hot bat lately. Posey went 3-for-4 with two RBIs Tuesday and is coming off a spectacular July in which he totaled a major league-best 43 hits.
Posey is 11-for-28 against Colorado, which is 4-3 on its eight-game homestand that ends today.