Ubaldo Jimenez evened his record at 9-9 with a great game pitched against a tricky Cubs team going six and two thirds innings and allowing just two runs, one earned. The offense came alive against injury fill-ins, with the firtst four hitters of the lineup, Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki, all collecting at least two hits. Fowler and Gonzalez each tripled in the contest and Chris Iannetta hit a key two run home run in the fourth inning to put this game firmly in the Rockies hands. Iannetta, Helton and Brad Hawpe each drove in two of the six runs.
The Rockies bats took advantage of the pregame scratch of scheduled starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano and may reap the benefits of a tired Cubs bullpen all weekend. Four Cubs relievers combined to throw 172 pitches, with the bulk of the load going to Sean Marshall and Jeff Samardzija. The Rockies, meawhile, used just three pitchers and 33 pitches in relief of Jimenez. Matt Daley, Rafael Betancourt and Huston Street continue to be lights out at the end of ballgames, the trio of righthanders have pitched 14 and 2/3 innings of scoreless work since Betancourt was traded to Colorado with another 2 1/3 added tonight.
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