Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies no-hit the Braves

Until Saturday, the Rockies were one of four teams in the majors without a no-hitter, along with the Padres, Mets and Rays.

“He’s as hard to hit at as there is in the league,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “This kid is going to throw another one or two [no-hitters], too. He’s turning into a real good pitcher, not a thrower anymore. They’ve done a great job with him.”

Jimenez gave up six walks, but none after the fifth  inning, and retired the last 15 batters he faced. He gave up one hard-hit ball in 25 other at-bats, on a 3-1 fastball Troy Glaus lined to lead off the seventh. But Milton High graduate Dexter Fowler made a running, fully-extending, diving catch in left center field to snare the line drive.

“The thing about it is, [his fastball] is 100 mph, but it’s not straight,” Chipper Jones said. “I can’t tell you how many times he started the ball at a left-hander’s hip and brought it back over the inside corner. That’s hard enough to hit when you’re facing 90 mph, much less 100. But that being said, the 100 is not what gets major league hitters out, it’s the ability to change speeds and locate, and he did that.”

The Braves were no-hit for the 16th time in franchise history and the first since Randy Johnson’s perfect game on May 18, 2004.

The no-hitter was good for Jimenez’s 34th career win in only his third full major league season while. He’s 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA for the season.

He had to go through the heart of the Braves order in the ninth, including the hottest hitter in the majors in Martin Prado (hitting .463 entering the game) and two All-Stars in Jones and Brian McCann. His fastball was still touching 98 in the ninth, and the Braves didn’t come close to doing anything with it.

Prado popped out on the infield, Jones flew out to left and after fouling off a couple of pitches and taking a split-finger in the dirt, McCann ended the game with a harmless ground ball to second. Jimenez had mastered the Braves in 128 pitches.

“When he comes out throwing 100 mph in the first inning, and they’re for strikes and they’re sinking ...,” said McCann, who made the final out in the first no-hitter he’s played in. “After my first at-bat I knew it was going to be one of those nights. His stuff was that good. ... It’s probably the best performance I’ve ever seen against me for sure.”

Jimenez threw three 100-mph fastballs in one at-bat to Glaus in the second inning. One of his ho-hum fastballs came out at about 98 mph. The Braves’ best hope was to get Jimenez’s pitch count up and get him out of the game. But he didn’t hit 100 pitches until the seventh inning.

“Guy is throwing 100, and he’s getting his breaking stuff over at will, change-ups, curveballs, sliders,” Jones said. “Effectively wild. He’s not a comfortable at-bat because the next pitch could be in your ear or on the black.”

Everything from Jimenez on Saturday night was hard, including his bat. He rifled a two-out single up the middle off Kenshin Kawakami in the third inning to turn a 1-0 lead into 4-0. It turned the lineup over for Carlos Gonzalez, who drove in two more runs with a double.

Last season, his first with the Braves, Kawakami made a habit of pitching his best against other team’s best: Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson, Johan Santana. But keeping up with Jimenez was too much Saturday night. For everybody.