PITTSBURGH -- Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez will start for
Colorado on Thursday night against the Washington Nationals, and
Taylor Buchholz is headed for the Rockies bullpen.
Rodrigo Lopez, who had been the scheduled starter Thursday, will
be pushed back to Saturday.
Jimenez appeared in two games for Colorado last season, starting
one. The 23-year-old was 8-5 with a 5.85 ERA in 19 starts for
Triple-A Colorado Springs before being promoted Tuesday.
The Rockies are 5½ games back of first-place Los Angeles in the
NL West. They beat Pittsburgh 5-3 Wednesday to complete a
three-game sweep, and are looking for another starting pitcher -- be
it in the trade market or internally.
"Everybody's looking for pitching," manager Clint Hurdle said.
"We might have something right here, so I think it's in our best
interests to look at home first."
Buchholz made seven starts earlier this season but had his
greatest success coming out of the bullpen. He made his first start
since June 1 on Monday but allowed six runs -- four earned -- and
nine hits in four innings.
Aaron Cook will start for the Rockies on Friday at RFK Stadium.