Rockies 2 - 1 Nationals
Final
  for this game

Rockies edge Nationals behind Jimenez

Jul 10, 2011 - 3:39 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Ubaldo Jimenez threw eight innings of one- run ball to lead Colorado to a 2-1 victory over Washington in the second portion of a three-game set.

Jimenez (4-8) retired the first 13 batters he faced, allowing five hits and a walk, and also reached two franchise milestones in the game.

The win was the 54th of his career, moving him past Pedro Astacio and into fourth place alone on the franchise victory list. Also, with his eight strikeouts, Jimenez became the franchise leader with 750, passing Astacio's 749.

Jim Tracy earned his 200th victory with the Rockies, becoming the third manager in franchise history to reach the mark after Don Baylor (440) and Clint Hurdle (534).

"I'm 100 percent now. Everything is back to normal. I just had to find a way to keep the speed and location at the same time," Jimenez said about his recent performances.

Huston Street worked out of a jam in the ninth to earn his 26th save and give the Rockies their second straight win after a season-high five-game losing streak.

Jason Marquis (7-4) allowed two runs on five hits and four walks through six innings as the Nationals dropped their third consecutive contest -- all by one run.

Street started the ninth and Ryan Zimmerman led off with a grounder to short. Troy Tulowitzki slipped while fielding the ball, allowing Zimmerman to reach first. After a Laynce Nix strikeout, Michael Morse lined a single into left- center to put the tying run at third. But Jayson Werth grounded a 2-2 slider to short, resulting in a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

"The guys battled hard. We pitched, played good defense and had the right guys up. We just didn't get it done. It was a tough one," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said about the loss.

Colorado struck first when Todd Helton led off the fourth inning by hammering a hanging slider over the right-field wall.

Ryan Spilborghs hit a first-pitch single in the fifth, and Mark Ellis followed with a double into the left-field corner. Spilborghs rounded third on the play, but Nix tossed the ball to Ian Desmond, whose relay throw beat Spilborghs to the plate as Jesus Flores had it blocked perfectly for the out. Ellis moved to third on the throw and came home on Helton's groundout to first, giving the Rockies a 2-0 advantage.

Washington made it a one-run game after Desmond led off the sixth with a liner into center field. Spilborghs slid for the sinking ball, but it bounced in front of him and went over his glove. The ball made its way back to the wall, and Desmond moved to third on the mistake. Pinch-hitter Rick Ankiel came up next and hit a bouncer to second that scored Desmond.

Washington threatened in the eighth inning against Jimenez after infield singles by Desmond and Roger Bernadina put the tying run in scoring position with two outs. But after working the count full, Danny Espinosa fouled out on the third base side to end the inning. Washington finished the day 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.

Game Notes

Tulowitzki had not played since Monday due to a tight hamstring...Colorado is now 17-6 in this series since the start of the 2008 season...Jimenez improved to 3-3 on the road this season over eight starts...Colorado won despite going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranding six.






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