Ubaldo Jimenez Throws No-Hitter; First in Rockies History

When you play your home games in a ballpark known for home runs and high scoring games, a no-hitter is probably the farthest thing from your mind. Playing in Atlanta's Turner Field, however, Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first no-hitter in the history of the franchise.

Jimenez struggled early on, walking six batters in the first five innings of Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves. The only runner to even reach third base, however, was Chipper Jones, who walked to start off the 4^th inning. Jones advanced to second on a balk and to third on a groundout by Brian McCann, but was stranded after a Troy Glaus strikeout and a Yunel Escobar groundout.

After walking rookie Braves outfielder Jason Heyward to start the fifth inning, Jimenez was able to retire the last fifteen Atlanta batters to complete the no-hitter. Jimenez's no-no was the first in the majors since Chicago White Sox hurler Mark Buerhle pitched a perfect game last season.

The Rockies, who are now 6-5 on the season, went up 1-0 in the top of the first inning on a Troy Tulowitzki sacrifice fly. They scored three more runs in the fourth inning, including an RBI single by Jimenez, to go up 4-0, which ended up as the final score to the game.

Jimenez, who sports a sterling 1.29 ERA to go along with a 3-0 record so far in 2010, has easily been the best pitcher for the Rockies the past two years. Jimenez is coming off back-to-back seasons with an ERA under 4, no easy feat pitching for the Colorado Rockies.

With the Rockies getting their first no-hitter, only three teams remain that have never had a pitcher throw a no-hitter for them. The Tampa Bay Rays have only been in existence since 1998, but the San Diego Padres and New York Mets have gone over forty years without a no-hitter.

Source(s):

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=300417115

All statistics retrieved from ESPN.com