Rockies -- and especially Jimenez -- are for real

The secret is out.

Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez has elevated himself among the game's pitching elite.

Just ask the San Francisco Giants, who became the latest NL team to lavish the smiling Dominican with praise for his overpowering ability after he matched up with the highly publicized Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum during the weekend, and helped the Rockies send a message to their closest challenger in the NL wild-card race.




As if rallying from a 6-1 deficit in the sixth inning on Saturday to beat the Giants 14-11 on Saturday night wasn't enough, Jimenez spotted the Giants a 2-0 lead on an Edgar Renteria home run in the second inning on Sunday, and then rallied at the expense of Lincecum for a 4-2 win.

The exclamation point came Monday night as the Rockies pulled out a 6-4, 14-inning victory. After Adam Eaton, who gave up three runs in the top of the 14th, drew a bases-loaded walk, Ryan Spilborghs delivered the first walk-off grand slam in Rockies history.

Not only did that give the Rockies a four-game wild-card lead on the Giants, but it set the stage for the Rockies' return to San Francisco this upcoming weekend, which begins with a rematch of Jimenez and Lincecum on Friday night.

"We're going to be in their house, so it's going to be really exciting," admitted Jimenez.

What's more, the Rockies are hosting the NL West-leading Dodgers for three games in advance of that visit to San Francisco. The same Dodgers who have beaten them 10 out of 12 games this season. The same Dodgers who last visited Coors Field in late May, when they swept a three-game series that resulted in Jim Tracy replacing Clint Hurdle as the manager.