Colorado @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 21, 2010 ) Colorado 1, Arizona 3
Ubaldo Jimenez attempts to become the first Colorado Rockies pitcher to win 20 games in a season when he takes the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
Jimenez already has set a franchise mark for victories in a season and remains one of the leading candidates for the National League Cy Young Award primarily due to a stellar first half.
Jimenez (19-6) had a 15-1 record at the All-Star break before cooling off considerably in the second half. Jimenez is 4-5 with a 3.93 earned-run average since the break. He had a 2.20 ERA in 18 starts prior to the All-Star Game.
His season ERA is still a very respectable 2.84 and he has struck out 192, just six shy of the career-best total he posted last season.
This will be Jimenez’s sixth start of the season against Arizona. Jimenez is 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA and has held the Diamondbacks to a .197 average.
Jimenez has a 5-3 record and 2.32 ERA in 13 career starts against Arizona.
In his last outing, Jimenez recorded victory No. 19 when he gave up four runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Arizona won Tuesday’s opening game of the series 3-1 behind eight solid innings from left-hander Joe Saunders. The loss dropped Colorado 2 1/2 games behind first-place San Francisco in the National League West.
The Diamondbacks set a major league record for strikeouts in a season. Arizona hitters fanned six times during Tuesday’s game to raise the club’s 2010 total to 1,403, surpassing the previous record of 1,399, set by the 2001 Milwaukee Brewers.
Five Diamondbacks have struck out at least 130 times this season. Mark Reynolds leads with 202, followed by Adam LaRoche (157), Justin Upton (152), Chris Young (134) and Kelly Johnson (133). Upton has batted only seven times in September and might not play again this season due to a shoulder injury.
Young and Reynolds could be line for some more punchouts today. Young has struck out 14 times in 34 career at-bats against Jimenez while struggling to a .147 average. Reynolds has fanned 13 times in 32 career at-bats and is batting .188 against.
Catcher Miguel Montero is batting just .130 in 23 career at-bats against Jimenez but has two homers and six RBIs among three hits.
Arizona starter Rodrigo Lopez is 0-3 with a 4.19 ERA against Colorado this season.
Lopez (6-14, 4.98 ERA) defeated Cincinnati in his last outing for his first victory since July 8. He gave up one run and eight hits in seven innings to end a seven-game losing streak.
Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the hottest hitter in baseball this month, is 4-for-9 lifetime against Lopez. Tulowitzki has 14 homers and 34 RBIs in September.