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Giants-Rockies Preview

Jul 3, 2010 - 5:40 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

San Francisco (40-38) at Colorado (42-37), 8:10 p.m. EDT

Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound has meant almost certain victory this season for the Colorado Rockies.

Having him face the punchless San Francisco Giants should only improve those chances.

Jimenez looks to turn a 10th consecutive start into a win for the Rockies when they host the Giants on Saturday night.

Jimenez (14-1, 1.83 ERA) leads the majors in wins and ranks second in ERA, one-hundredths of a point behind Florida's Josh Johnson.

Although the right-hander is one win away from matching his career high total from last season, he hasn't been at his best lately.

After winning seven straight starts with a 1.36 ERA following his lone loss to the Dodgers on May 9, Jimenez has a 7.71 ERA in his past two outings. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Monday at San Diego before allowing four runs and four hits in a 10-6 victory.

Even with that slight hiccup, Jimenez is 8-0 with a 2.51 ERA over his last nine starts with Colorado (43-37) winning each game.

Facing the struggling Giants (40-39) at home doesn't figure to slow the Colorado ace.

Jimenez is 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA in six home starts, and has dominated San Francisco in four games there by going 2-0 with a 0.93 ERA.

Jimenez was superb in his last meeting against the Giants on May 31, throwing a four-hitter with nine strikeouts in a 4-0 road victory.

He could also benefit from facing a Giants' lineup that has scored 15 runs and is batting .209 during a seven-game losing streak, the team's longest since an eight-game skid June 13-22, 2007.

The Rockies have held the Giants to six runs in winning the first two games of this four-game set, including a 6-3 win Friday.

"We want to get out of it," said Giants starter Tim Lincecum, who took the loss Friday. "We have to cut that tension we have in the clubhouse right now and relax. There is a lot of pressing stuff."

The Giants will turn to Barry Zito (7-4, 3.43), who hopes to continue his dominance of the Rockies with only his second victory in over six weeks.

The left-hander is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA in his last six starts versus the Rockies, reaching at least the seventh inning five times. He was impressive against them June 1, yielding one run and four hits with eight strikeouts in a 2-1, 11-inning home defeat.

Zito is all too familiar with his team's offensive woes, as he's been provided with two runs or fewer in six of his last eight starts.

He'll have to contend with a red-hot Dexter Fowler, who has collected six hits in this series - half as many as San Francisco. The center fielder, recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday, has seen his season average increase 28 points to .232 in the last two games.

"The more at-bats you get the more stuff you learn," Fowler said. "It keeps the confidence level up."

He's 9 for 19 with two doubles, two triples and one RBI in five games against the Giants. Fowler is 4 for 12 with two doubles against Zito.