St. Louis @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 7, 2010 ) St. Louis 7, Colorado 8

The Cardinals have left Coors Field with their hearts broken twice in two days. It’s up to one of their aces to patch it all back together.

The Rockies have rallied for huge victories in each of the first two games of this series, setting up a brilliant pitching matchup Thursday when Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez faces St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter in a duel between All-Stars.

Which Jimenez shows up is anyone's guess. He has been hammered in each of his last three starts, allowing 17 runs in 19 hits in 17 2-3 innings. It has washed away a phenomenal start to the season, when Jimenez allowed 13 runs in 101 1-3 innings.

Jimenez was so brilliant through the first two months that even with the recent struggles, his ERA is still just 2.27. He has walked eight and surrendered three homers in 17 2-3 innings. The three homers equal the amount he allowed through his first 14 starts.

He hit rock bottom in his most recent outing, when he allowed seven runs in the third inning against the San Francisco Giants. Colorado ultimately rallied to win 11-8 and Jimenez was brilliant in the other five innings he pitched.

Regardless of how bad he has been lately, a victory would make Jimenez the first National League pitcher in 22 years to have 15 victories at the All-Star break. Greg Maddux was the last to do it in 1988 with the Cubs. David Wells was the last American League pitcher to do it with Toronto in 2000.

Carpenter is coming off his own miserable performance. He survived just three innings of a 12-5 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday when he was ripped for eight runs (seven earned) in just three innings. The only other time Carpenter has lost this year was May 13.

Carpenter has not faced the Rockies this season and pitched against them just once last year. He left with a no decision despite allowing just one run in seven innings. He is 3-0 in five career starts against Colorado with a 0.75 ERA.

The Rockies have won the first two games of this series dramatically. They scored nine runs in the ninth inning on Tuesday and rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win on Chris Iannetta’s ninth-inning homer on Thursday.

Iannetta also had a key three-run homer in Tuesday’s incredible comeback and is now 8 for 24 in his last six games with four homers. The Rockies have won 10 of their last 11 against the Cardinals.