Last night as I turned on the Braves/Rockies game I told my wife “we’re in for a treat tonight”. Of course the reason I made that comment was because I originally thought the pitching match-up was Ubaldo Jimenez and Jair Jurrjens. I then found myself a little bummed I was watching the Rockies feed but it wasn’t long before the treat turned into a nightmare for my Braves.
That’s because Ubaldo Jimenez pitched the first no-hitter in the majors for the 2010 season. Jimenez threw a major league high 128 pitches in the contest and was still hitting the high 90’s as the eighth and ninth inning came around.
I’ve never been a big one for no-hitters because I’ve always found them to be a little cheap. My reasoning has always been the same no matter who was pitching. “So the pitcher didn’t give up a hit but he walked how many?”
True enough. Jimenez walked six in this contest and one could argue it may not have even been the best pitched game of the day as the Mets and Cardinals raced to a 0-0 tie before the top of the 19th.
But it is a no hitter none-the-less. Troy Tulowitzki provided the Rockies with a run in the top of the first and Jimenez singled in the fourth to drive in a run of his own while Carlos Gonzalez doubled in two as the next batter.
Perhaps the biggest break for Jiminez in his run at a no-hitter was the costly base-running mistake of Kenshin Kawakami in the bottom of the third. After reaching base following bunting into a force out Kawakami was advanced to second on a Martin Prado walk. That brought Chipper Jones to the plate and following the second fastball for a ball Rockies catcher Miguel Olivo threw down to second to catch Kawakami off base.
Those thrill seekers hoping for some heroic defensive play can feel a little left out in this one. The only play even close to a dramatic defensive play to save the day was that of Dexter Fowler who chased down a Troy Glaus line drive in the seventh. Never-the-less it’s being highlighted on MLB.com and other places.
I’ll admit I missed parts of the game. We went out to get some ice cream, I had turned on the computer to compete in a on-line NASCAR 2003 event and didn’t realize the game had no hits until a well after 9.
Not the best game ever pitched. It probably will be beat out by a few others in my opinion this year but still it’s a no-hitter and I can’t change that.
