Rain, cold and a game delayed more than two hours after being rescheduled from the previous day — add it all up and it was no wonder the Rockies and Mets played in front of mostly empty seats Thursday at Coors Field.
For Ubaldo Jimenez, it was a mixed blessing: fewer fans in the stands to boo him.
Barely a year after his meteoric start in 2010, Jimenez was booed in the fourth inning after going to a 3-0 count against opposing pitcher Jonathon Niese. And he was booed louder moments later when Niese jogged to first base courtesy of Jimenez’s sixth walk of the game.
Memo to the boo birds on hand for the Mets’ 9-5 win: You weren’t alone. Jimenez, who was pulled moments later after serving up a two-out, two-run single to Jose Reyes, may have been the angriest man in the building. His reaction to hearing it from the hometown faithful?
“I know how fans are,” Jimenez said. “I don’t put that in my mind. I know when I do well, they’ll be cheering again. I know how they feel. As soon as I walked him, I thought, ‘Uh-oh, I’m in trouble.’ “
But then, trouble has shadowed Jimenez for most of the season. Through six starts, he’s 0-3 with an ugly 6.67 ERA. If you don’t think the Chief has become a chief concern, then check out these numbers: Through six starts last season, he was 6-0, 0.87.
His slider, by his own admission, has deserted him, and his two-seam and split-finger fastballs aren’t far behind. Now for the most chilling fact of all: The Rockies going back to last season have lost Jimenez’s last nine starts.
Thursday’s loss, the Rockies’ eighth in 10 games, was about as significant as a loss can be in May. It dropped them out of first place in the National League West after a 37-day stay atop the division, their longest such stretch since 1995.
Ironically, Jimenez lost on a day when the Rockies’ bats showed signs of life. They had nine hits, including solo home runs by Jonathan Herrera and Todd Helton — all six Colorado homers in the three-game series came with the bases empty — and rallied for three runs in the seventh, two scoring on a Seth Smith double. Now for the flip side: The nine hits improved their team batting average to .232, 14th in the league.
“Certainly, we’re not doing what we want to do offensively and at times on the mound,” Smith said. “It is what it is. We’ll keep grinding. Nobody is quitting. We’ll turn the corner.”
The Rockies’ hitting malaise is no short-term issue. They’re 8-14 since their 11-2 start. Their latest defeat gave them three straight series losses at Coors Field, where they’ve split 16 games. Carlos Gonzalez has one home run in LoDo, two fewer than Carlos Beltran hit on Thursday.
“It’s hard when you lose series, especially here at home,” Gonzalez said. “We need to be able to win series. That’s how we keep ourselves in first place. There’s nothing we can do about it because that’s in the past. We’ve got to win a game, starting (today), and go from there.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
Looking ahead
FRIDAY: Padres at Rockies, 6:40 p.m., Root
The numbers (4-1, 3.14 ERA) say it all about Jorge De La Rosa, who has been the Rockies’ most consistent starter. De La Rosa has allowed a .197 opponents’ batting average in seven starts, but struggled with his command in his last outing at San Francisco, throwing 26 balls in his first 43 pitches. Yankee refugee Dustin Moseley (1-4, 2.47) allowed seven earned runs in his first six starts before being touched up for five by the D-backs in his last start. Moseley doesn’t throw particularly hard89-90 mph — so he will have to be crisp with his curveball and changeup.
Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Saturday: Padres’ Aaron Harang (5-2, 4.07 ERA) at Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (4-2, 2.68), 1:10 p.m., Root
Sunday: Padres’ Mat Latos (0-5, 4.86) at Rockies’ Jason Hammel (3-2, 3.02), 1:10 p.m., Root
Monday: Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez (3-2, 3.68) at Rockies’ Clayton Mortensen (0-0, 0.55), 6:40 p.m., Root
Tuesday: Giants’ Matt Cain (3-2, 3.22) at Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (0-3, 6.67), 1:10 p.m., Root
