Rockies catcher Olivo anticipated Jimenez no-no

Any time you go out to the ballpark to take in a baseball game or tune into a game on television there is always the possibility that you will see some type of history made. It doesn’t usually dawn you at first, but as the game progresses and someone perhaps hits a couple of home runs, the excitement builds, as everyone wonders if he will hit a third. The potential no-hitter is another one of these things that can suddenly get interesting after you look up and see a zero under the “H” column on the scoreboard after the fourth or fifth inning.

Ubaldo Jimenez gave the fans just that type of thrill on Saturday when he threw the first no-hitter in the major leagues in 2010 and the first no-no in the history of the Rockies franchise. It is interesting to note that he did it on the road against the Braves, and many if not most fans may have been rooting for him rather than against him in the late innings. Hey, how many times can you say that you were in the stands when a no-hitter was pitched?

Of course any no-hit, no-run game comes as a surprise to just about everyone, but in this case the man who caught the game, Miguel Olivo, was an exception. He has been telling Jimenez that he was going to pitch one at some point since back in February when he evaluated Jimenez’ electric stuff during a workout in the bullpen during spring training.

Jimenez’ fastball was clocked at 100 mph early in the game, and he reached 98 while pitching to the last batter of the gem. His manager, Jim Tracy, may be overstating the obvious in his assessment of Jimenez.

“His stuff is dominant. At times, it’s flat-out dominant,” said Tracy.

Olivo knew it all along, and who knows, it may not be the last time Jimenez does it. He will have the chance to become the second pitcher to throw consecutive no-hitters in the history of baseball in his next start against the Washington Nationals later this week