Rockies 5, Brewers 3: Ubaldo Jimenez, Ian Stewart lead Rockies to victory over Brewers on Opening Day

Ah, how sweet the smell of victory is! Though the game was tense once the bullpen had to be used, the Rockies prevailed.

WPA Heroes: Ubaldo Jimenez (.255), Brad Hawpe (.117), Ian Stewart (.072)

WPA Zeros: Randy Flores (-.096), Seth Smith (-.063),  Matt Belisle (-.049)

The Rockies started their 2010 runs campaign in the second inning with a Brad Hawpe ground-rule double. On a wild pitch to Ian Stewart, Hawpe advanced all the way from second base to home plate to score the game's first run. Brewers' catcher Gregg Zaun had trouble finding the ball with the way the sun hit the field. Ian Stewart then jacked a homer to put the Rockies up 2-0. Stewart added a second run on a bases-loaded sac fly in the fourth inning.

Ubaldo Jimenez wasn't quite as dominant as he should've been (he allowed eight hits), but he still had a good outing nonetheless. He struck out six in six innings and allowed one run on a Ryan Braun double in the fifth. A bit of bad defense was on display for both sides today. Troy Tulowitzki (who had an RBI single in the fifth) failed to glove a ball in the first, allowing Ryan Braun to reach first base. In the second inning, Stew took a grounder in front of Tulo and then made a throwing error, sailing it toward the dugout. In addition to his failure to come up with the ball on the wild pitch in the second, Zaun also committed an error that allowed U-Ball to reach first base.

So, about the bullpen. Matt Belisle got two quick outs to start the seventh, but then surrendered a home run to that other CarGo, Carlos Gomez. After a Ryan Braun single, Belisle left the game and Randy Flores entered. After a Prince Fielder single and a Jim Edmonds (really, he's still playing?) walk, things seemed dicey. Matt Daley came in and collected the last out of the inning by getting Casey McGehee to fly out. Phew! At least Rafael Betancourt looked good out there, getting a 1-2-3 inning.

Franklin Morales provided tons of excitement in his first save appearance of 2010. He hit Rickie Weeks with a pitch and then threw a wild pitch that moved Weeks to second. Ryan Braun hit a sac fly to score Weeks (who advanced only to third on a Carlos Gomez double). Tulo then made a leaping grab to put Prince Fielder out. A second liner to second base put an end to the game. Rockies win.

Other things to note: Carlos Gonzalez hit four singles, and Ryan Spilborghs hit an RBI double in the ninth.

The graph and Row Call after the jump.

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