Cook is going to have to impress the front office brass in his minor league stint if he wants a major league roster spot.

Expected to be one of the team’s steadier starting pitchers, Cook has been everything but that this year.

He is going to have to prove himself worthy of a spot in the starting rotation on a Rockies team still fighting for a playoff berth.

But Colorado’s postseason hopes dwindle as its star continues to struggle of late.

Jimenez suffered through one of the worst starts of his career on Saturday, getting battered for six runs and six walks in less than three innings in a 10-2 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies. The six walks were a career-high for Jimenez, and the start was the second-shortest. Jimenez fell behind 12 of the 15 batters he faced before exiting, and two others put the first pitch in play. Ryan Howard hit a bases-clearing triple off the Rockies star to chase him from the game, and the rout was on.

“I couldn’t locate my fastball in any spot,” Jimenez said. “After that first inning, I lost the strike zone. I beat myself and didn’t give my team a chance to win.”

Ian Stewart hit a solo home run for Colorado, which was held in check by Philadelphia starter Kyle Kendrick.

Tulowitzki has started to take light batting practice and has been making outstanding progress.

The team considered making a trade to find someone to fill in for Tulowitzki while he was out but opted instead to remain patient.

That appears to have paid off, as the shortstop is ahead of schedule in his recovery from the wrist injury.

It looks like Tulowitzki could be going on a rehab assignment in the next week or so and rejoin the Rockies by early August.

The Rockies are 16-7 without him, which just goes to show that baseball truly is a team sport.

Tulowitzki said he never worried how the team would fare without him, knowing guys would step up to the plate.

It certainly isn’t the first time that the Rockies have continued to surge despite the loss of Tulowitzki.

The Rockies overall have been a team plagued by injuries, but they are hoping to heal up for the second half push.

Kyle Parker was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the MLB Draft and has said he plans to give up football.

Head coach Dabo Swinney recently met with Parker in hopes of convincing him to come back for another season.

If Parker decides to stick to his original plan, redshirt freshman Tajh Boyd would be forced into the starting role.

The team already has to replace explosive running back C.J. Spiller, so doing the same at quarterback would be a major problem for the offense.

Helton’s numbers have significantly diminished for the past several years, especially in the power department.

Now that his average has also slipped greatly, he is starting to see more and more time on the bench.

The team is starting to give more and more opportunities to Jason Giambi, who can at least bring some power to the lineup.

At 36-years old, the multi-time All-Star might have to start thinking about announcing his retirement.

Nothing like running off three wins in a little more than 24 hours to jump-start things.

The Colorado Rockies left Denver on a seven-game road trip Sunday night with plenty of momentum. The Rockies swept a doubleheader from Washington on Saturday, then won their third game in a row with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.

The two wins moved the Rockies back above .500 at 19-18 heading out of town. The road trip starts with two games at Chicago, followed by a pair at Houston and three in Kansas City to begin interleague play.

The road trip will be followed by a big homestand against two NL West rivals: three games at home with Arizona, and three at home with the Dodgers.

The three-game winning streak is the longest for the Rockies since Colorado won three in a row in the season’s second week. Colorado opens the week fourth in the West, three games behind San Diego.

—30—

It was Jimenez’ first loss of the season, although he could have easily ended up with another victory with some run support.

Instead, it was promising youngster Clayton Kershaw who stole the show and led Los Angeles to a win.

Kershaw gave up just two infield hits on a day that saw some fantastic pitching around the league.

Jimenez took the loss despite giving up just two hits over seven innings, which is just plain bad luck.

Jimenez struck out 13, allowing just one run and four hits over seven innings of work to pick up his sixth victory of the year.

The 13 strikeouts was a career high for Jimenez, whose previous high was 11 back in 2008.

The flame-thrower touched 101 MPH at one point on the radar gun, and manager Jim Tracy thought it was the best fastball he had seen yet from the budding star.

Despite Roy Halladay’s early dominance in the National League, Jimenez is the front-runner for the Cy Young just a month into the season.

McGregor was on a work trip when two of his associates became concerned that they couldn’t get in contact with him.

They asked hotel security to check on McGregor, and they found him laying unconcious in his room.

Efforts to revive McGregor were unsuccessful, and it is believed that he died of natural causes.

An autopsy is planned to determine the exact cause of death, which is a shocking one to say the least.