Today's Matchup - April 19, 2011

Today's the day you've been waiting for, Rockies fans.

Ubaldo Jimenez returns to the mound against the San Francisco Giants.

After the Rockies nearly avoided a no-hitter by Tim Lincecum last night, the team returns to Coors to face the lineup once again as they try to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time all season.

Only three teams haven't lost two in a row - the Rockies, the Phillies, and the Yankees.

On a more somber note, today is the one-year anniversary of the death of team president Keli S. McGregor. His initials, KSM, have been forever retired and he is honored by a patch on the right field wall.

Lots of Rockies news today, fans.

Seth Smith will once again be held out of the lineup due to a groin strain suffered Sunday against the Cubs. He'll be available to pinch hit, and should start again tomorrow. Second baseman Jonathan Herrera has been given a much-deserved day off, and he'll come off the bench as needed.

Third baseman Ian Stewart has been optioned to AAA Colorado Springs to make room for Jimenez. He needs to work on his timing and his mechanics if he hopes to return to the Majors in 2011. Manager Jim Tracy said he was moved so he could get a large number of at-bats down in Colorado Springs.

Also, no official word on how long Clayton Mortenson will remain with the big club, but his chances of staying are good based on his five-inning, two-hit performance last night. Watch the blog for updates as another move could come as early as Thursday, most likely for a position player. As soon as I know, you'll know.

That said, here are tonight's lineups.

Game #16: Jonathan Sanchez (1-1, 3.24 ERA) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (0-0, 7.50 ERA)

Tonight's Lineups

San Francisco Giants

Aaron Rowand, CF

Freddy Sanchez, 2B

Aubrey Huff, 1B

Buster Posey, C

Pablo Sandoval, 3B

Pat Burrell, LF

Nate Schierholtz, RF

Mike Fontenot, SS

Jonathan Sanchez, P

Colorado Rockies

Dexter Fowler, CF

Ryan Spilborghs, RF

Carlos Gonzalez, LF

Troy Tulowitzki, SS

Todd Helton, 1B

Jose Lopez, 2B

Ty Wigginton, 3B

Chris Iannetta, C

Ubaldo Jimenez, P

First pitch is slated for 6:40pm Mountain time. The game can be seen on ROOT Sports in the Rocky Mountain region, and CSN-Bay Area in San Francisco. The game can be heard on 850 KOA in Denver and KNBR 680 in the Bay Area.