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Rockies-Giants Preview

May 31, 2010 - 4:00 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Colorado (26-23) at San Francisco (26-22), 4:05 p.m. EDT

There's little argument about who has been the NL's best pitcher in recent seasons after San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum collected his second consecutive Cy Young Award in 2009.

This year's honor, however, appears to be Ubaldo Jimenez's to lose.

The Colorado Rockies right-hander has a chance to join a select group of starters to reach 10 wins before the end of May, but he'll have to do it in a marquee matchup Monday against Lincecum, who looks to shake off some uncharacteristic control problems.

"I'm looking forward to it and I'm sure America is, too," Giants closer Brian Wilson said.

Jimenez (9-1, 0.88 ERA) is certainly the hotter pitcher coming in, with the hard-throwing Dominican maintaining eye-popping numbers through his first 10 starts.

He pitched a no-hitter last month against Atlanta and has allowed a total of seven hits in 15 scoreless innings over his last two outings.

"It's not easy to have an ERA like that young man has this late into the season," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "I've heard the term microscopic used and I think it applies."

Since 1990, only John Smoltz (1996), Roger Clemens (1997), Pedro Martinez (1999), Curt Schilling (2002) and Brandon Webb (2008) have notched double-digit wins by the end of May.

Jimenez said he's looking forward to squaring off against Lincecum.

"When you've got a game like that and you're facing one of the best pitchers in the game, everything is better," Jimenez told MLB's official website. "Everyone is (anticipating) that game - our hitters, their hitters. We're going to be out there competing."

Lincecum (5-1, 3.00) said a new split-fingered fastball is one reason for Jimenez's brilliant start, but the Giants' ace is more concerned with his own performance after allowing six runs in 4 2-3 innings and suffering his first loss of the season Wednesday against Washington.

It was hardly Lincecum's first shaky outing, even though he was 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA through his first eight starts.

He has walked five in each of his last three starts and has given up 11 runs in 9 2-3 innings over his last two, prompting Giants manager Bruce Bochy to meet with his star pitcher Thursday.

"We talked about a lot of things," Bochy said. "When things aren't going so well for a player there's some times as a manager you do want to talk to them to see where they're at. I talked to Timmy and basically he's fine. He's a little frustrated. This guy has set the bar so high that he's tough on himself when he doesn't pitch like he's accustomed to."

Lincecum and Jimenez have already engaged in a few memorable duels. Each pitched seven shutout innings in a game the Rockies won 1-0 on June 11, 2008, and they squared off twice in a six-day span last August, with each winning a low-scoring game at home.

San Francisco (27-22) hopes this one results in its longest winning streak of the season. A 6-5, come-from-behind win over Arizona on Sunday gave the Giants a three-game sweep and their first four-game winning streak since they began the season 4-0.

They tied the game with two runs in the ninth inning, then won it on Andres Torres' RBI single in the 10th. Torres went 4 for 6 and is batting .370 (10 for 27) since moving into the leadoff spot May 23.

"His play has been really a pleasure to watch," Bochy said. "Defensively, offensively, he's really playing some great ball."

The Rockies (26-24) dropped two of three to the Dodgers over the weekend, including a 4-3 defeat Sunday, but they've still won six of eight to tighten the top four in the NL West.

They dropped two of three at San Francisco from April 30-May 2 after going 2-7 there last year.