ST. LOUIS — Ubaldo Jimenez is Mona Lisa with a Sharpie mustache.
The beauty is there, but something is amiss. With Jimenez, his 2008 season began as his 2007 season ended: with command issues.
The Cardinals wore him out, made him work and ultimately punished him for a few mistakes. Jimenez needed 100 pitches to get 15 outs, which goes a long way in explaining why the Rockies lost 3-0 on a soggy Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
Jimenez was still hitting 97 miles per hour on the radar gun in the fifth inning, an indication that his strength and stamina are fine. His precision, however, is lacking. The Cardinals planned to make Jimenez throw strikes, to not expand their zones. It created eight base runners in through three innings. Four consecutive base hits opened a 2-0 lead for St. Louis that the Cardinals never relinquished.
“I was trying to be too perfect when I got two outs or when I got two strikes,” Jimenez said. “I know I can pitch much better than this.”
Jimenez last outing was eerily similar in Game 2 of the World Series. He surrendered just two runs in 4-2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox, but eclipsed 100 pitches.
Jimenez’s missteps were a problem because of a sputtering offense. If the lineup was an amusement park ride, it would have been Wet n’ Mild.
The Rockies finished the series 3-for-24 with runners in scoring position. And on Garrett Atkins” sixth-inning single Thursday, Todd Helton was thrown out at home plate. Worse than failing in the clutch, the Rockies failed at the launch. The Cardinals” starters posted a 0.54 ERA in the series, surrendering just one run in 16-2/3 innings.
Brad Thompson picked up the victory in the series finale, striking out six in 6-2/3 innings.
“He had a good sinker and if we would have laid off his slider that would have helped,” shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. “We just didn’t hit like we expected.”
The Rockies return to Denver for the home opener Friday with Mark Redman facing Arizona’s Micah Owings.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
