During his Sunday morning pre-game chat with the media, manager Clint Hurdle uttered, for the first time this season, the phrase “heated pennant race.” Then the Rockies went out and cranked up the heat on the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
Behind the powerful right arm of rookie starter Ubaldo Jimenez and the torrid bat of Matt Holliday, the Rockies beat the Dodgers 9-6.
But to beat L.A., the Rockies had to survive two bullpen meltdowns. The first came in the seventh inning when the Dodgers scored two runs, taking advantage of two walks by LaTroy Hawkins.
The Dodgers scored two more runs in the ninth on five consecutive two-out hits before Manny Corpas struck out Andre Ethier with the bases loaded.
In the ever-tightening National League West race, the Rockies closed on the lead pack. They moved 3½ games behind co-leaders Los Angeles and Arizona. San Diego, which beat up the Astros 18-11 Sunday, is a half-game out of first place.
By winning two of three games from L.A., the Rockies took a series from the Dodgers for the first time since Sept. 12-14, 2005. During that span, the Dodgers held a 7-0-1 series edge over Colorado. The Dodgers lost for the fourth time in five games.
Frequently lighting up the radar gun at 98 mph, Jimenez earned the first victory of his major league career. Making his fourth big-league start, the 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic pitched six innings of four-hit ball, striking out three and walking three.
Jimenez allowed just two runs. The first came in the fourth inning on a double by Russell Martin and an RBI single by Jeff Kent, who went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. The Dodgers’ Martin-Kent combo pushed across another run in the sixth when they hit back-to-back doubles.
Holliday was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in the third and an RBI-single in the sixth. It was Holliday’s 20th homer and the fourth in his last six games. Colorado improved to 15-3 when Holliday hit a longball.
Holliday got plenty of help. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba went 3-for-4, including a solo homer in the Rockies’ three-run third. He’s hitting .283, second among NL catchers behind the Dodgers’ Russell Martin (.301). All told, six different Rockies drove in at least one run Sunday.
The Rockies are off Monday before beginning a six-day, six-game road trip on Tuesday in Miami. They’ll play three games against the Marlins, followed by three in Atlanta against the Braves.
Staff Writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
