Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez was trying to survive an ugly first inning against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night at chilly Coors Field.
He had already given up one run and a walk, and was counting his blessings after second baseman Jayson Nix turned Mark Teixeira’s scorching liner into a double play.
When Jimenez walked Brian McCann, he got a visitor. It wasn’t pitching coach Bob Apodaca. It was manager Clint Hurdle, making a rare appearance to the mound.
“When he came out, I was like, ‘Uh-oh,’ ” said Jimenez, who managed a big smile after the Rockies held on for a 4-3 victory. “When the manager is coming out, you’re in trouble, so you better do something about it.”
Looking on from left field, Matt Holliday thought, “I figured Clint was yelling at him.”
Actually, Hurdle delivered some stern advice: Slow down, throw strikes and pitch with confidence.
“The only thing I know about pitching is that it’s hard to hit,” Hurdle said. “But I do know about rhythm and tempo. I asked (catcher Yorvit) Torrealba to make sure Jimenez knew what momentum was, because we weren’t getting any, and I wanted some.”
“He made me get on track again,” Jimenez said.
While the rest of the right-hander’s effort was not without its warts — he twice walked Atlanta starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens — it was a step in the right direction. Jimenez allowed three runs on six hits in six innings and earned his first victory of the season. In fact, it was the first victory for any Rockies starter this season.
From the second through the fifth, Jimenez was in a groove. In the sixth, he made his biggest mistake of the night, laying a fastball over the plate for Mark Kotsay, who crunched a two-run homer, slicing Colorado’s lead to 4-3.
However, Rockies relievers Taylor Buchholz, Brian Fuentes and Manuel Corpas shut out the Braves in the seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. Corpas struck out two in his perfect inning for his third save.
“It’s great if you can get that feeling that once you get to the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, you’ve got the game in hand,” Holliday said.
At the plate, Rockies hitters are slowly, perhaps even menacingly, breaking out of their hibernation. While smacking 10 hits didn’t exactly make Blake Street quake, the heart of the order came through when it counted.
Todd Helton hit a two-out double in the first and scored on Holliday’s RBI single to left. In the fourth, Helton led off with a single and scored when Garrett Atkins’ line drive dribbled under right fielder Jeff Francoeur’s glove. Atkins got credit for an RBI double. He came home on Brad Hawpe’s double to left-center.
Leadoff man Willy Taveras, who entered the game with a .143 average and a .250 on-base percentage, led off the fifth with a double down the left-field line. He scored on Holliday’s single to right. Holliday went 3-for-4 and is hitting .412 with five RBIs in his last four games.
“We are looking more like us,” he said. “I think as a team our confidence is getting there.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
Better batting
Rockies’ offense improves:
First seven games
12 runs, .209 avg.
Tuesday
4 runs, .313 avg.
TODAY: Braves at Rockies, 6:30 p.m., FSN
Lefty Mark Redman gets a shot at redemption and a chance to prove he’s worthy of the rotation. In the Rockies’ home opener Friday, Redman got off to a shaky start against Arizona, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. The Braves start lefty Chuck James, who’s making his first start in place of Mike Hampton, who is back on the disabled list with a strained pectoral muscle. James went 11-10 with a respectable 4.24 ERA with Atlanta last year, but he gave up 32 homers. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Thursday:
Braves’ Tim Hudson (1-0, 3.46 ERA) vs. Rockies’ Jeff Francis (0-1, 7.11), 1:05 p.m., FSN
Friday:
Rockies’ Franklin Morales (0-0, 0.00) vs. Diamondbacks’ Brandon Webb (2.0, 2.08), 7:40 p.m., FSN
Saturday:
Rockies’ Aaron Cook (0-1, 3.46) vs. Diamondbacks’ Dan Haren (1-0, 3.00), 1:55 p.m., KDVR-31
Sunday:
Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1, 4.38) vs. Diamondbacks’ Edgar Gonzalez (0-0, 1.80), 2:10 p.m., KTVD-20
