Dominant Games: Ubaldo Jimenez No-Hitter

Ground ball to second. Barmes to first. Ubaldo Jimenez has no-hit the Atlanta Braves! The first no-hitter in Rockies history! Unbelievable!

—Rockies television announcer Drew Goodman

This is the start of long-running series where I examine some of the greatest games ever pitched and attempt to rank them using a method I developed. Make sure to check out the introduction.

In honor of Ubaldo Jimenez making his first start with the Indians tomorrow, I thought I would give Indians fans a look at what the Indians are hoping for.

On April 17, 2010, Ubaldo Jimenez and the Colorado Rockies took on the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Carlos Gonzalez, fresh off the disabled list, gave Jimenez some support by doubling off of Braves’ starter Kenshin Kawakami and scoring the first run. In the third, Jimenez helped his own cause by singling home a run with two out. Gonzalez followed with a two run double to give the Rockies a 4-0 lead.

It was apparent from the start of his outing that Jimenez was not very comfortable on the mound. In the first and second, he worked around walks. In the next three innings, he walked the leadoff hitter and had issued six free passes through five innings.

Then something occurred to Ubaldo’s pitching coach Bob Apodaca, who mentioned to Jimenez, “You’ve been throwing good from the stretch, why don’t you just give it a try?” So, Jimenez went out to start the sixth from the stretch position and suddenly his control was spot on.

In the seventh, Troy Glaus whistled a ball to deep center. Center fielder Dexter Fowler was shading Glaus a bit toward right center had to sprint towards left center and laid out to preserve the no-hitter. Jimenez barely reacted to the great catch, but Rockies television announcer exclaimed, “Remember that play!” We all will, as Jimenez retired the next eight hitters in a row to record the first no-hitter in Rockies history.

Dominance: 6/10

Jimenez’s average fastball in 2010 was 95.8 MPH, but on this night in Atlanta it was a bit harder. He was regularly in the upper 90’s and occasionally hit 100 MPH. Braves’ hitters hit a few balls hard, including Glaus’ drive to center that Fowler caught up with. His seven strikeouts are a good indication that Braves’ hitters were still hitting the hard stuff.

Efficiency: 4/10

It was a game of two halves for Jimenez. For the first five innings, he had trouble throwing strikes, but his only real bad inning, pitch-count wise, was the 21 pitches he threw in the third. After the fifth, the most he threw in an inning were 14. Considering the six walks allowed, he “only” threw 128 pitches in the game. However, he only threw 56.3% of his pitches for strikes. He was effectively wild, as they say.

Luck: 6/10

There was one great play behind him and the Rockies executed a nice pick-off play when catcher Miguel Olivo bailed Jimenez out of a jam in the third by throwing out Kawakami at second. Other than that, nearly all of the plays were routine.

Conditions: 6/10

In 2010, Turner Field was a neutral park. However, there was a strong wind blowing in the entire game and knocked down a few potential homers. In the first, Nate McLouth hit a ball hard to center that Fowler might not have been able to get to with no wind. The other victims of the wind were actually the Rockies’ hitters who hit a few balls to the warning track in center and left. After Fowler’s great grab in the seventh, Yunel Escobar hit a little line drive to center field. On a normal night, Fowler would have had to move in a few steps to make the catch, but on this night the wind almost knocked the ball to the ground right before Fowler could get there.

Competition: 8/10

The Braves were a better than average offensive in 2010. They were fifth in the league in scoring (738) and seventh in the league in total hits (1411). 2010 All-Stars Brian McCann, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward were all in the lineup that night.

Final Score:  30/50

Jimenez’s gem was not the most impressive no-hitter. However after a wild start, he made the adjustment all while keeping the Braves at bay. His hard, nasty fastball, was coupled with favorable wind helped lead Ubaldo to a special night.