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DENVER — Ubaldo Jimenez remembers watching from his home in the Dominican Republic as countryman Pedro Martinez won Cy Young Awards for the Boston Red Sox.
Jimenez saw how aggressive Martinez was when he pitched — how he backed down from no one, how you could tell just from his face that he was going to get the next guy out.
“I want to pitch like him,” Jimenez told his friends and family.
On Saturday night, with his family among the 35,637 in attendance at Coors Field, Jimenez outpitched his idol, and the Rockies beat the Mets, 7-1.
“He’s been my hero since I was little, so it was awesome,” Jimenez said.
Colorado is a Major League-best 12-5 since June 3, and seven games behind National League-West leading Arizona, which lost on Saturday.
Though Jimenez and Martinez share the same nationality, the two have never met; never even spoke, actually. But Martinez was quick to praise Jimenez’s effort.
“It’s not every day you’re going to outdo a performance like that kid did on the other side,” Martinez said. “I wish I could have, but it didn’t happen. That kid did a [heck] of a job.”
Jimenez (2-7) used his mid-90s fastball and devilish slider to baffle New York’s powerful lineup. He gave up a triple to Jose Reyes to open the game and didn’t surrender another hit until Damion Easley lined a pinch-hit single to left field in the eighth.
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Rockies play again today at 1:05 pm MDT at Coors Field
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