Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Ubaldo Jimenez can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The 27-year-old righty captured his elusive first win of 2011 during the first day of the third full month of baseball with a shutout, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jimenez (1-5), who had 10 wins by this time last season, allowed just four hits and struck out seven in his 10th start of the season. Jose Morales and Carlos Gonzalez both drove in a run and Todd Helton had a solo homer to make up the offense for Colorado, which halted a three-game skid and salvaged the finale of a three-game set.
Jon Garland (1-5) allowed three runs on five hits in six innings to get the loss, which snapped the Dodgers' season high-tying three-game win streak.
For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in search of their fourth straight win and fifth victory in six games as they go for a sweep of the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Jon Garland, who hasn't won a game since April 20 (six winless starts), starts for the Dodgers, while Ubaldo Jimenez, who hasn't won since last September 17 (12 winless starts), gets the call for Colorado. Here are tonight's starting lineups:
Rockies (25-29)
Smith RF Herrera 2B Gonzalez LF Tulo SS Helton 1B Wiggington 3B Morales C Fowler CF Jimenez P
Dodgers (26-30)
Furcal SS Blake 3B Ethier RF Kemp CF Gibbons LF Loney 1B Barajas C Carroll 2B Garland P
The Dodgers have won the first two games of a series only one other time this season, April 8-9 in San Diego, before losing the finale at Petco Park.
Tonight's 7:10 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Prime Ticket. For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.
The Dodgers look to end their homestand on a high note, seeking their fourth straight win and a series sweep over the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Jon Garland gets the start for the Dodgers, against the struggling Ubaldo JImenez for Colorado. The Dodgers have won the first two games of this series by a combined score of 15-3.
The Dodgers have won three straight games, scoring at least seven runs than all of them, the first time they have done that since May 25-27, 2009. Garland looks to be the beneficiary of that offensive support, as he has six quality starts in his eight outings, but just one win to show for it. He is 1-3 with a 3.45 ERA in five starts at home this season.
Jimenez one year ago today was 10-1 with a microscopic 0.78 ERA. He went into the All-Star break at 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA, seemingly a virtual lock for one of the great pitching seasons in recent memory. However, rather amazingly he didn't even get 20 wins last year, ending with a 19-8 record and 2.88 ERA. This year, through nine starts, Jimenez is 0-5 with a 5.86 ERA.
Tonight is just the second opportunity to sweep that for the Dodgers this season. They won the first two games in San Diego on April 8-9, but lost the series finale on April 10. Colorado is just happy to turn the calendar to June, as they were 8-21 in May.
Tonight's 7:10 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Prime Ticket. For more news and information on the Dodgers, or on tonight's game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.
