Saturday, April 17, 2010

Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez no-hits the Atlanta Braves

ATLANTA -- Ubaldo Jimenez pitched the first no-hitter in the Colorado Rockies' 18-year history, dominating the Atlanta Braves in a 4-0 victory Saturday night.

Jimenez (3-0) walked six -- all in the first five innings. He was helped by Dexter Fowler's diving catch on Troy Glaus' drive to left-center field in the seventh inning. Jimenez was at his best in the final innings, reaching the high 90s with his fastball through the final batter.

In the ninth, Martin Prado popped out to second baseman Clint Barmes, Chipper Jones hit a fly ball to left field and Brian McCann grounded out to Barmes on Jimenez's 128th pitch to end the game.

Jimenez thrust his arms in the air and was swarmed by teammates as he celebrated history for himself and his franchise.

The 26-year-old right-hander struck out seven and had an RBI single in the fourth inning.

It's baseball's first no-hitter since Mark Buehrle's perfect game last season. Buehrle faced the minimum 27 batters for the Chicago White Sox in a 5-0 no-hit victory over Tampa Bay on July 10, 2009.

Jimenez, from the Dominican Republic, was 15-12 with a 3.47 ERA in 2009. He set a career high in wins while posting the lowest ERA for a starter in Rockies history.

The Rockies have only one one-hitter in their history. Jason Jennings, Tom Martin and Brian Fuentes combined on a one-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over Oakland on June 20, 2006.

Associated Press

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