Rockies snap 8-game skid

Associated Press

DENVER

Ubaldo Jimenez was back to All-Star form and the Rockies found their groove at the plate. It all adds up to one thing: A return to the win column for Colorado.

Jimenez rebounded from two rough starts to pitch seven effective innings and the Rockies snapped an eight-game skid with a 9-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

“It feels good to get that behind us,” Colorado manager Jim Tracy said. “It was good to see Ubaldo bounce back.”

Carlos Gonzalez and Brad Hawpe homered and Clint Barmes had two hits and three RBIs for the Rockies, who had dropped 11 of 13.

Jimenez (16-2) returned to the form that earned him a start in the All-Star game. He was hit hard by Florida on July 19 and lasted just two innings Saturday against Philadelphia, but he bounced back against Pittsburgh. Jimenez allowed one run and four hits, struck out six and walked three. He moved within a victory of tying the franchise record for wins held by three pitchers.

His 16 victories leads the majors.

“It feels really good, not just for me but for the team,” said Jimenez, who won for the first time since the All-Star break. “We needed to get back on track.”

The Rockies used 15 hits and timely two-out offense to snap their longest losing streak since June 2008. A day before the All-Star break they had a chance to move into a first-place tie with San Diego but entered Thursday nine games behind the NL West leading Padres.

The Rockies failed to scored more than four runs in a game during the losing streak.

“It’s never fun to lose eight games in a row, especially where we’re at record-wise and in the division,” Barmes said. “This is a big game for us to come out to win.”

Neil Walker homered for the Pirates, who were trying for their first three-game road sweep in two seasons.

The Pirates got on the board first. Jose Tabata led off the game with an infield single and came home on Garrett Jones’ two-out double.