Jason Ryan Jennings...he and his wife, Kelly, have two children, son Braden Riley (12/13/01) and daughter Bailee Abigail (10/14/03)...graduated from Poteet High School (Mesquite, Texas) in 1996, lettering in both baseball and football...in football, he was an all-district punter and kicker...was the district MVP on the diamond...as a senior, he hit .410 with 7 homers and 32 RBI and went 10-3 with a 0.92 ERA and 132 strikeouts...his father, Jim, played baseball for the University of Texas and professionally in the Texas Rangers system...his late grandfather, James Jennings, was the long-time public address announcer for the Dallas Cowboys and Mesquite Championship Rodeo...Jennings participates in Rockies "Care and Share Program"...is involved with Denver Action Team, a national youth volunteer initiative organized by the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Volunteers of America...signed by Dar Cox.
2006
The 28-year-old right-hander made 32 starts. ... It was his 4th career 30-start campaign...Rox were 14-18 in his starts. ... Ranked 12th in NL with a 3.78 ERA.
... Earned last win in last start on 9/19 vs. San Francisco at Coors, a 12-4 Rox victory (5.0 ip, 7 h, 3 r-er, 3 bb, 1 so). ... Tossed less than 6.0 innings in 4 of his last 6 starts. ... Jennings fell just short of a club-record fourth 10-win season. Currently, Jennings and Pedro Astacio each have 3 10-win seasons. ... Jennings has franchise-record 58 wins in his career. Despite a low ERA, just twice did he win consecutive starts (3 straight, June 10-20; 2 straight Sept. 13 and 19)... Before Sept. 13, won just one of his previous 14 starts. ... Had a 6.21 ERA (33.1 ip, 23 er) his last 5 starts to raise season figure from 3.32 to 3.78. ... Threw a career-high 212.0 innings in 2006. ... Only 2 pitchers in franchise history have tossed more than 213.0 innings in a season: Pedro Astacio (232.0 in 1999) and Darryl Kile (230.1 in 1998). ... Posted a 3.56 ERA at Coors Field. ... Has most wins (31) and starts (73) of any pitcher in Coors Field history. ... Had a 3.17 ERA (147.2 ip, 52 er) over last 21 starts beginning May 29, dropping season figure from 5.18 to 3.78. ... Jennings had 20 quality starts this season, but went just 6-6 in those contests. ... In fact, over his last 11 quality starts beginning June 26 at LAA, a game in which he exited with a 3-0 lead only to take a no decision in a Rockies loss, Jennings earned just one victory. ... Rox were shut out 4 times this season in Jennings' starts.
Ranked T5th in NL with 3 complete games and was one of just 10 pitchers in the major leagues with multiple shutouts this season. ... Jennings has received one or zero runs of support while in the game in 13 of his 32 starts this season. ... Was 0-8 in those 13 games despite a 2.95 ERA (88.1 ip, 29 er). ... 4 of his 9 wins have come when he has allowed zero earned runs, including a pair of complete game shutouts. ... Had a career-high 142 strikeouts this season, 5th-highest single season total ever by a Rox pitcher. ... Hit .129 (8-for-62) this season, but is just 1-for-29 (.034) in his 14 starts since the All-Star break. ... Lone hit in that span was off Elmer Dessens, Sept. 1 at Dodger Stadium.
2005
In the midst of another successful season for the Rockies, Jason's year was cut short when he suffered a fractured right middle finger while sliding in late July...the injury led to the first stint on the disabled list of Jennings' career as he missed the final 2 months of the season...left game on July 20 at Washington after injuring right middle finger while sliding into second base attempting to break up a double play in the 6th inning...flew back to Denver the next day and was examined by Dr. Thomas Noonan at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic...Noonan diagnosed a compression fracture in the right middle finger and Jennings was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 23 (retroactive to July 21)...had surgery on July 26 and was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 29...began throwing in late September...went 6-9 with a 5.02 ERA (122.0 ip, 68 er) in 20 games/starts prior to the injury, but was 5-3, 3.49 over final 11 starts...despite missing the final 2 months, still ranked 4th on the Rockies staff in wins, innings and starts...ranked 5th on the team with 75 strikeouts and had the 2nd-best winning percentage (.400) on the staff...pitched 6.0 or more innings in 15 of his 20 starts, going 7.0 or more frames on 6 occasions with 8 quality starts...opposition batted just .237 (54-for-228) on the road, but .308 (76-for-247) at home...averaged 4.06 runs of support per 9 innings, 3rd-lowest on staff among pitchers with 10 or more starts...batted .158 (6-for-38) at the plate, lowest average of his career...went 0-for-2 as a pinch-hitter...started the Rockies' 2nd game of the season, taking loss by allowing 6 runs (4 earned) in 4.0 innings on April 6 vs. San Diego...the outing would match his shortest of the season...dropped 6 of his first 7 decisions, going 1-6, 7.05 (52.1 ip, 41 er) in his first 9 starts through May 21...took tough loss in his 2nd start on April 11 at Arizona as Colorado was blanked 2-0 despite Jennings' quality start...took no decision in 3rd start on April 17 vs. San Francisco despite season-high 8 strikeouts...left with a 5-3 lead in that game...earned first win in next start on April 22 vs. Los Angeles, tossing complete game in Rockies' 9-1 victory...it was his 3rd career complete game, 2nd CG win, and first career CG at home...it was his first overall victory since Aug. 17, 2004, snapping 11-game drought without a win...Colorado bullpen blew 5 saves in that stretch, all in the 7th inning or later and all with Jennings in line for the win...allowed just 3 hits on April 29 at Los Angeles, but one of them was a Hee-Seop Choi grand slam as Jennings took loss in Rockies' 6-3 defeat...over first 4 starts in May, went 0-3, 10.89 (20.2 ip, 25 er)...lost 3 straight starts from May 10-21 to end that stretch, matching most in his career...over final 11 starts beginning May 26, went 5-3 with a 3.49 ERA (69.2 ip, 27 er)...had 6 quality starts in that final span...earned wins in consecutive starts on May 26 at Chicago (NL) and May 31 vs. St. Louis, allowing just one run in 7.0 innings in each outing...the May 26 victory snapped a stretch of 4 consecutive losing decisions, and also broke a stretch in which Jennings won just once in a span of 17 starts...it was his first road win since July 25, 2004 at Arizona...win on May 31 vs. St. Louis was 25th of his career at Coors Field, surpassing Pedro Astacio for most by an individual pitcher in the park's history...the wins came against Carlos Zambrano and Mark Mulder...tossed 7.0 shutout innings on June 17 at Baltimore, first of 2 scoreless outings for the year, earning 4th win...made consecutive starts against Houston on June 22 and 28, opposing Roger Clemens in each outing, and went 0-1 with a 7.82 ERA (12.2 ip, 11 er)...went 2-1, 2.16 (25.0 ip, 6 er) over final 4 starts, all in August, including 3 quality starts...earned win on July 9 vs. San Diego in Rockies' 1-0 victory...it was the first 1-0 game in Coors Field history in the 847th regular season contest at the park...it snapped longest span without a 1-0 game in any park in major league history...each of Jennings' final 4 victories came in one-run wins for Colorado in which he allowed 2 or fewer runs...lost on July 15 at Cincinnati despite allowing only 2 runs in 7.0 innings...earned win in final start July 20 at Washington, allowing just 2 runs in 5.0 innings, before leaving due to injury...went 2-1, 4.37 (22.2 ip, 11 er) in 6 games/starts for Colorado in spring training, leading team with 19 K's.
2004
Joined Pedro Astacio (1998-2000) as the only pitchers in franchise history to post three consecutive
10-win seasons, going 11-12 with a 5.51 ERA in a career-high 33 starts...Jennings did it in his first
three seasons, however, the only Rockie to ever do that and one of only two pitchers from the rookie class
of 2002 to accomplish the feat (Josh Fogg the other)...led the staff with a career-high 133 strikeouts, marking
the third straight year he's led the club in punchouts...went over 200 innings for the first time in his
career (201.0), a total that ranked second on the club behind Shawn Estes (202)...Jason was also second
on the staff in starts and wins...posted a team-leading 17 quality starts, the third highest total in franchise
history behind Darryl Kile's 19 in 1998 and Astacio's 18 in 1999...worked at least 6.0 innings in 22 of his 33 trips to the mound and gave up 3 or fewer runs in 20 of 33...allowed
the most hits in the league (241), as well as the second most runs (125)
and earned runs (123)...he also walked 101 batters, fourth most in the circuit,
but a league-leading 14 of those were intentional...after a rough
beginning in which he was 1-4 with a 10.57 ERA in his first five outings,
Jason rebounded to go 10-8 with a 4.60 ERA over his final 28 starting
nods (170.1 ip, 87 er)...he had a 6.19 ERA in the first half, then lowered
that to 4.76 after the All-Star Break, which included a 3.76 ERA in
September to close out the year...thanks to Colorado's record struggles in
the bullpen, Jason finished the season with just one decision in his final
seven starts (a loss on Sept. 24)...relievers blew four saves in Jennings'
last seven starts, all in the seventh inning or later and all with Jason in line
for a win...went 6-7 at home, his first losing campaign at Coors...in 16
road outings, Jason was 5-5 with a 4.86 ERA...Colorado was 13-20 when
he took the mound...enjoyed success within the division, going 6-2 with a
3.88 ERA in 15 starts vs. the NL West (97.1 ip, 42 er)...batted .239 with a
homer and 6 RBI, the third highest average among starting pitchers
behind Jason Marquis (.292) and Livan Hernandez (.247)...Jason's 17 hits
tied for third among all hurlers, trailing only Marquis (21) and Hernandez
(20)...he was also 2-for-4 as a pinch hitter...opened 2004 with a rough
debut April 7 at Bank One, as Arizona scored 7 runs in the fourth inning to
knock Jason from the ballgame after 3.2 IP...got into the win column on
April 18 at St. Louis, an 8-5 decision over Woody Williams...lost his next
three starts, which included a career-high 10 runs allowed in a 13-7 loss
to the Astros on April 23 in Denver...snapped the losing streak on May 8 at Wrigley Field, as he belted a
game-tying 2-run homer off Greg Maddux on his way towards a 4-3 victory over the Cubs...it was Jason's
second career home run and first since his ML debut...beat the Padres in back-to-back starts, May 26 at
Coors (6.0 ip, 3 er) and May 31 at PETCO Park (8.0 ip, 1 er), both against Adam Eaton...then won his third
consecutive start June 5 vs. San Francisco, allowing 1 run over 5.2 innings for a 11-2 victory...streak was
halted with a 10-4 loss on June 10 at Yankee Stadium...Jason struckout 8 but did allow 6 runs, the first time
he'd given up more than 3 since May 4...earned a 7-6 victory over Curt Schilling and the Red Sox on June
16, as he allowed just 3 runs over 6.0 innings and went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI single...it was
Jason's 20th career victory at Coors Field, joining Astacio as the only pitchers to ever win 20 or more games
at that ballpark...after beginning the year 0-3 in his first four appearances in Denver, Jason won his next
four starts at Coors from May 26-July 3...he fell one shy of matching his own club record of five consecutive
winning starts at home set in 2003...collected his 40th career victory on July 8 at PETCO Park, passing
Kevin Ritz (39) for second place on the all-time franchise wins list...JJ gave up 1 run over 7.2 innings
to join Astacio (53) as the only pitchers to win 40 games in a Rockies uniform...allowed a club-record 15
hits in a 9-7 loss to the Padres on July 20...it tied for the most hits allowed by any pitcher in the majors in
2004 (Brad Radke also gave up 15 on Aug. 27 at Anaheim)...beat Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks
in consecutive starts July 25-30, during which he allowed just 2 runs in 15.2 innings...earned an impressive 3-2 win over the D'Backs July 25 at Bank One...Jennings
matched the future hall-of-famer punch-for-punch as both hurlers
took a shutout into the eighth inning...JJ gave up 1 run in the eighth
but Colorado rallied for 3 off the D'Backs bullpen in the ninth to
sweep their first road series since June of 2001...then beat Johnson
4-1 at Coors on July 30 to collect his 10th victory of the season, joining
Astacio as the only pitchers in Rockies history to post three consecutive
10-win seasons...worked 7.0 innings (4 er) in a loss to
Mark Prior on Aug. 5, giving him three consecutive 7.0-plus inning
starts for the first time in his career...earned his 11th and final win
on Aug. 17 vs. the Mets, yielding 3 runs over 7.0 innings and also
going 2-for-3 at the plate for his fifth career multi-hit game...saw his
string of tough luck begin on Aug. 28 at Florida, when he allowed 2
runs in 6.0 innings and left with a 3-2 lead, only to watch Florida
score 2 in the eighth to win 4-3...then had a no decision at PETCO
Park Sept. 3 despite leaving with a 5-4 lead after six innings...made
his 100th start on Sept. 9 vs. San Diego and allowed 3 runs over 6.0
innings and left with a 7-3 lead that the bullpen couldn't hold...frustrations
continued on Sept. 19 vs. Los Angeles, when he carried a shutout into the seventh inning and
departed with a 5-0 lead with two runners on and two outs...both those runners came around and LA rallied
to win 7-6...made his career high 33rd and final start on Sept. 30 at Dodger Stadium...gave up 1 run
over 8.0 innings with 1 walk and 6 K's in yet another no decision...left in a 1-1 tie and LA won it 4-2.Since Jason Jennings made his historic debut on Aug. 23, 2001 at Shea Stadium, only seven
other pitchers have won more games in the NL.
2003
Colorado's Opening Day starter, Jennings led the staff in innings pitched (181.1) and tied Darren Oliver for the staff lead with 32 starts...Jason
also led the team with 32 starts as a rookie in 2002 and thus became the first ML pitcher since Brad Radke in 1995-96 to lead his club in starts for each
of his first two seasons...becomes only the fourth hurler to do it since 1990, joining Radke, Charles Nagy (1991-92 with Cleveland) and John Burkett
(1990-91 with San Francisco)...Jason's 12 wins trailed only Oliver's 13, giving him 28 victories over the past two seasons...only Pedro Astacio (30, 1998-
99) won more games in consecutive years as a Rockie...Jennings has now accounted for almost 20% of the
team's 147 total victories during this time span...is only the fourth pitcher in club history to post back-to-back
10-win seasons, a group that includes Astacio (3 straight, 1998-2000), Brian Bohanon (1999-2000) and Ritz
(1995-96)...with 32 career wins, JJ trails only Ritz (39) and Astacio (53) on the franchise charts...Jason led
the staff in strikeouts (119), walks (88), hits (212), runs (115) and earned runs allowed (103)...he and Oliver
shared the team lead with 15 quality starts...worked at least 6.0 innings on 19 occasions, lasting 7.0-plus
seven times with one 8.0 inning complete game...snapped three different losing streaks of five or more
games for the Rockies, including Colorado's season-high 8-game losing streak and a franchise record-tying
10-game road losing streak with a victory on Sept. 9 at St. Louis...was nearly unbeatable at Coors Field,
going 8-1 with a 4.64 ERA while the Rockies were 11-1 in his 12 starts (66.0 ip, 34 er)...no other pitcher in
baseball had a higher home winning percentage (minimum 10 starts)...lifetime at Coors Field, JJ is 17-6 and
the Rockies 24-7 in his 31 starts...the 17 victories tie Curtis Leskanic for second-most in that ballpark's history,
trailing only Astacio (24)...unfortunately 20 (or 61%) of his starts this season came on the road, where
he struggled to a 4-12 record and a 5.38 ERA (115.1 ip, 69 er)...Jason's sophomore campaign certainly had
its share of ups-and-downs...he began the season 3-5 with a 5.40 combined ERA in April and
May...rebounded to go 4-0 with a 3.25 ERA in four interleague starts and was 6-1 over eight starts from June
4 to July 12...then suffered through a career-long four-game losing streak Aug. 2-22, including three consecutive losing starts Aug. 11-22...but again
bounced back to go 2-0 over his next three starts with a 3.79 ERA before losing what turned out to be his last game on Sept. 14 at Arizona...the Rockies
were an even 16-16 when he took the mound in 2003...right-hander will enter next spring with a career mark of 32-22 while his team is 41-30 in his 71
assignments...one of the best hitting pitchers in the game, Jennings batted .222 (12-for-54) with 3 runs, 3 doubles, 3 RBI, 5 sac hits and 5 walks...was
batting .308 through the end of June (8-for-26) but went just 4-for-28 to close out the year...is a .269 career hitter at the major league level (35-for-131)
with 16 RBI and has now hit safely in 32 of his 57 career starts at NL ballparks...the 2002 NL Rookie of the Year made his first career Opening Day start
on April 1 at Houston, becoming the first Rookie of the Year winner in either league to start the following season's opener since Dwight Gooden in
1985...became only the eighth to ever do it and just the second since John Montefusco in 1976...at 24 years, 257 days, Jason was the second youngest
O.D. starter in club history, five months ahead of David Nied in 1993 (24 years, 103 days)...wasn't quite the opener he was looking for, as he allowed a
career high 8 earned runs in a 10-4 loss...got into the win column his very next start, defeating Curt Schilling and the D'Backs 8-3 in Denver...went 0-2
in his next three outings, including an 11-2 defeat to Schilling at Bank One on April 17...seemed to find himself in a loss at Philadelphia April 23, where
he allowed 5 first inning runs but then blanked the Phillies on just 2 hits over his final 5.0 innings...from that point on, Jason went 8-3 with a 3.46 ERA
over his next 13 starts heading into the All-Star Break (96.1 ip, 37 er)...notched his first road win of the year May 10 at Florida, allowing 2 runsb1
earnedbover 7.0 innings to snap a five-game Rockies losing streak...was off to one of his finer starts May 15 vs. Montreal, as he retired the first six hitters
he faced before the first of two rain delays shortened his evening...picked up his second career complete-game in a 3-2 loss to Kazuhisa Ishii on
May 21 at Dodger Stadium...it was the first time he'd gone the distance since his ML debut back on Aug. 23, 2001...was 1-2 during the month of May
despite a solid 3.97 ERA (34.0 ip, 15 er)...faced four straight American League opponents to open June and responded by going 4-0 with a 3.25 ERA
(27.2 ip, 10 er)...the 4 victories tied Derek Lowe and Chris Reitsma for most interleague wins in the
majors...failed to tie his career best of five straight winning starts by losing 5-3 on June 27 at
Pittsburgh...improved to 5-0 at Coors Field by tossing 6.2 scoreless innings on July 2 vs. Arizona and
ended the first half a perfect 6-0 at home by defeating Los Angeles 5-3 in his last start before the break on
July 12...took the mound on his 25th birthday to open the second half July 17 at Pac Bell but there wasn't
a whole lot to celebrate...threw 96 pitches in only 4.0 innings, yielding 8 runs (7 earned) on 9 hits as the
Giants jumped out to an 8-2 lead and never looked back...became the fourth Rockie to post back-to-back
10-win seasons by defeating the Brewers 6-1 on July 27 in Denver...wouldn't get back into the win column
for another month, as he suffered through a career-long four-game losing streak Aug. 2-22, including three
consecutive losing starts Aug. 11-22...allowed 21 earned runs over 25.0 innings during that stretch (7.56
ERA) and walked 16 with only 10 strikeouts...his ERA took a beating when he gave up 4 runs in the first
inning of his Aug. 8th start vs. Pittsburgh, only to have a two hour rain delay end his night prematurely,
vaulting his ERA from 4.52 to 4.74...gave up a career-most 12 hits in a 9-3 loss to the Braves for his fourth
straight defeat on Aug. 22...the loss, his first and only of the season at home...snapped the skid with one
of his better efforts of the year, as he struckout a career-high 10 batters in a 6-1 victory over the Giants on Aug. 28...became the first Rockies pitcher to
reach double-digits in strikeouts since John Thomson fanned 12 on Oct. 7, 2001 at San Diego...gave up 1 run over 7.0 innings to improve to 8-1 in what
was his final home start...Colorado's struggles down the stretch really magnified just how important Jennings is to this ballclub...Jason was the only
Rockie with a victory over a 16-game span from Aug. 22 to Sept. 10, as the rest of the squad went 0-14...snapped Colorado's season-high 8-game losing
streak and a franchise record-tying 10-game road losing streak by defeating the Cardinals 8-1 on Sept. 9 at Busch Stadium...the win also ended a
personal six-game road losing skid for the right-hander...lost a 5-0 decision to Randy Johnson on Sept. 14 at Bank One in what turned out to be his 2003
finale...scheduled to take the mound at least two more times, Jennings came down with a flu-like virus and was hospitalized the night before his Sept.
20th start vs. San Diego...the illness kept him away from the club for about a week and he was shutdown as a precaution.
2002
Jennings was named National League Rookie of the Year by the BBWAA, the first player in Rockies history
to earn the honor ... became the 18th pitcher to win the award since its inception in 1947 and only the sixth in the last
21 years, joining Dwight Gooden (New York '84), Todd Worrell (St. Louis '86), Hideo Nomo (Los Angeles '95), Kerry
Wood (Chicago '98) and Scott Williamson (Cincinnati '99) ... was the only player to appear on all 32 ballots, receiving
27 first-place votes and 5 second place for a total of 150 points ... Montreal's Brad Wilkerson was second with
57 ... in voting by his peers, was named The Sporting News'NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year ... also honored as the top
NL rookie by Sports Illustrated, Baseball Digest and the
Players' Choice Awards ... the right-hander was 16-8 with
a 4.52 ERA (185.1 ip, 93 er), leading the staff in starts (32),
innings (185.1) and strikeouts (127) ... his 16 wins led all
major league rookies in 2002 and were the most by an NL
rookie since Tom Browning won 20 games in 1985 ... since
1980, only Browning and Gooden (17 in 1984) have won
more games among first-year hurlers in the NL ... fell just
one win shy of tying the Rockies single-season record of
17 shared by Pedro Astacio in 1999 and Kevin Ritz in
1996 ... Jason combined with Denny Stark (11) to produce 27 victories, the most by two rookie teammates in the NL
since Browning (20) and Ron Robinson (7) won 27 for the 1985 Reds ... among big league rookies in 2002, Jason
ranked second in starts, tied for third in winning percentage (.667) and fourth in strikeouts ... nine of his wins came
at Coors Field, where the righty was 9-4 with a 5.65 ERA (94.0 ip, 59 er) ... the 9 home wins tied for fourth in the NL
and were the second most in franchise history behind only Gabe White's 10 in 2000 ... more importantly, the Rockies
were 12-5 in his 17 home starts ... Jennings compiled a 7-4, 3.35 (91.1 ip, 34 er) record on the road ... left with thelead in five of his eight no-decisions ... he led 2-1 on April 11 vs.
Arizona -- although it was after just 2.0 innings due to a right elbow
contusion -- led 5-4 in his June 23rd start vs. TB, 2-0 in his July 11th start
at SF, 5-4 on July 27 at Milwaukee and then 2-1 in his final outing, Sept.
25 at LA ... worked at least 6.0 innings in 19 of his 32 starting assignments,
going 7.0+ on nine occasions ... of those 19 starts, he allowed 3 or fewer
runs in 13 of them ... overall, the Rockies were 19-13 with Jennings on the
hill, averaging 6.51 runs per game (second best run support in the
NL) ... at the plate, the former Baylor All-American produced one of the best
hitting seasons by a rookie pitcher in over a half century ... batted .306 (19-
for-62), second among all pitchers to teammate Mike Hampton (.344) ... that
.306 average, the best by a rookie hurler since Clint Hartung hit .309 for
the 1947 New York Giants ... Hartung, however, also played 34 games in
the outfield ... therefore, Jennings became the first exclusive pitcher to hit
.306 or better in his first year since Eddie Lopat for the 1944 White Sox
(.309) ... was the first rookie pitcher to break .300 since Jim Perry did so
for Cleveland in 1959 ... drove in 11 runs, tied with Kevin Millwood for
most RBI among pitchers ... hit safely in 18 of his 30 NL starts ... after a
strong showing down the stretch in 2001, Jennings went to spring training
in a battle for the fifth and final spot in the rotation ... won the spot and made
his first start of '02 in a losing decision, April 6 at Dodger Stadium (6.0 ip,
7 h, 3 er) ... in his next start, April 11 vs. Arizona, was struck just above the
right elbow by a line drive off the bat of Steve Finley ... was forced to
leave the game after 2.0 ip with a right elbow contusion ... did not miss a
turn, earning his first victory of the year April 16 vs. LA at Coors (6.0 ip,
9 h, 4 er, 0 bb, 3 k) ... suffered a 3-2 loss April 23 at Cincinnati despite
another quality outing (6.0 ip, 3 er) ... then kicked off a career-best 7-
game winning streak from April 28 through June 11, tied for the longest
by a starter in club history ... Bill Swift also won 7 straight decisions June
21-Sept. 20, 1995 ... it was the longest streak by a rookie in 2002 and tied
for the fifth longest in the NL ... the streak covered nine starts in which he went 7-0, 3.93 ERA (55.0 ip, 24 er), with
15 BB and 45 K ... won four consecutive starts May 26-June 11 ... had a perfect game through 5.1 innings and a no
hitter through 6.1 ip on May 31 at Pac Bell ... retired the first 16 Giant hitters in order until walking Torrealba with one
out in the sixth and didn't give up a hit until Bonds singled with one out in the seventh ... recorded his sixth straight
win on June 5 vs. LA and then extended that to seven with 7.0 scoreless innings June 11 at Boston ... the streak was
snapped by the Yankees on June 18 at Coors, his first loss since April 23 ... at the plate, compiled a 6-game hitting
streak (7-for-13) from June 23 to July 27, the second longest by a pitcher in 2002 (Hampton 8 games) ... earned the
win in his final start of the first half, July 3 vs. SF, and in doing so became just the fourth pitcher in club history to have
9 wins at the All-Star Break ... the franchise record is 10, done by Ritz in 1996 ... on July 21 vs. Milwaukee, Jason became
just the second rookie in club history to win 10 games (Reynoso, 1993) ... had a no decision at Miller Park in his next
start July 27, but went 2-for-3 with a run scored for his first career multi-hit game ... the former No. 1 pick really
began to make a name for himself with a dominant August that saw him earn NL Rookie of the Month as well as Rockies
Player of the Month ... won five consecutive starts Aug. 1-23, only the fourth pitcher in team history to do so ... in the
five wins, Jennings allowed just 8 runs in 33.2 innings of work (2.14 ERA) ... in six August starts overall, the righty was
5-1 with a 3.55 ERA (38.0 ip, 15 er) ... opened the month with an outstanding 3-0 win on Aug. 1 at PNC Park, setting
a club record with 6.2 hitless innings to start the game ... with two outs in the seventh, the no-hit bid was erased by
a Rob Mackowiak broken-bat, bloop single just out of the reach of Juan Uribe and Todd Zeile down the left field
line ... Jennings still allowed only one hit overall in 7.0 ip ... won his second game in as many starts on Aug. 7 vs.
Cincinnati, throwing a season-high 8.0 innings, while allowing 2 runs on 5 hits ... won his third straight start on Aug.
12 at Florida, a 1-0 victory over A.J. Burnett ... that win, his 13th, setting a new club rookie record (Armando Reynoso
12 in 1993) ... then turned around and beat Maddux and the
Braves on Aug. 18 ... held Atlanta to just 1-for-7 w/RISP ... tied the
club record with his fifth consecutive winning start on Aug. 23
vs. the Mets, exactly one year to the day of his major league
debut in 2001 ... just like in his debut, Jason beat the Mets again,
holding New York scoreless through 5.0 until allowing a pair of runs
in both the sixth and seventh ... with the win, he joined Brian
Bohanon (April 8-May 3, 1999), Pedro Astacio (Aug. 28-Sept.
19, 1997) and Bill Swift (June 21-July 20, 1995) as the only
pitchers to win five straight starts in the team's 10-year history ... the
victory marked his sixth consecutive winning decision and upped
his record to 15-5 on the year ... failed to become the first Rockie to ever win
six straight starts, allowing a career-high 8 runs in a loss to San Francisco
on Aug. 28 ... won his 20th career game in his 35th start on Sept. 2 at San
Diego ... with the win, he became just the fifth ML pitcher since 1976 to
record his 20th career victory in 35 or less starts ... Cal Eldred won 20
games in his first 30 career starts (1993), Scott Erickson (1991) and Mark
Fidrych (1977) each won 20 in 34 starts and Steve Rogers (1974) won
his 20th game in start No. 35 ... that win, however, would be his 16th and final
of the season ... went 0-2 in his last four attempts at that club-record tying
17th win ... walked a team record 10 batters on Sept. 8 vs. the Padres, the
most walks by a pitcher since Scott Ruffcorn issued 10 free passes for the
Phillies on June 24, 1997 vs. Florida ... made his last start on Sept. 25 at
Dodger Stadium and was in line for the victory after yielding just 1 run on
5 hits over 6.0 innings ... Rockies took a 2-1 lead into the ninth but LA rallied for two runs off Jimenez to win 3-2.
2001
Jennings opened the 2001 season where he left off a year ago, at Carolina (AA)...after just four starts with two wins and a 2.98 ERA, was bumped up to AAA Colorado Springs in late April...moved into the Sky Sox rotation and won three of his first four starts...lost his next five decisions before he straightened out and won four of his last seven decisions to finish up at 7-8 in AAA...over his last six starts, allowed only four earned runs over 36.0 innings with just nine walks and 34 strikeouts...had his AAA contract purchased by the Rockies on Aug. 23, the day he would take the mound and make history at Shea Stadium.
- Overall, in seven big league starts, Jennings was 4-1 with a 4.58 ERA (39.1 ip, 20 er) and one complete-game shutout (Aug. 23 at NYM).
- Left-handers hit .310 (22-for-71).
- Righties hit .247 (20-for-81) vs. Jennings.
- Three of his wins came at night where he was 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA...in three day games, he was 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA.
A HISTORICAL NIGHT IN NEW YORK... Jennings made his major league debut on August 23 at Shea Stadium against the Mets...he fired a complete-game, five-hit shutout with four walks and eight strikeouts...was threatened just once in the second inning, with runners on first and third with one out...Jason got himself out of the jam, starting a 1-6-3 inning-ending double play...along with his shutout, he also went 3-for-5 at the plate with a home run and two RBI.
- In doing so, he became the first player in major league history to throw a complete-game shutout and hit a home run in his ML debut.
- He was the first big league pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout in his debut since the Rockies' own Mark Brownson blanked the Astros July 21, 1998 in Houston.
- He joined Brownson as the only two Rockies to debut with a CG shutout.
- Jennings is the 75th player in ML history to do so and only the third since 1992, when Pedro Astacio (then of the Dodgers) shutout the Phillies on July 3, 1992.
- Jennings became just the fifth Rockie to win his starting debut, joining Marcus Moore (7/9/93), Mark Thompson (7/26/94), Bryan Rekar (7/19/95) and Brownson (7/21/98).
- It was the third complete-game shutout by a Rockies pitcher in 2001 and 12th total in franchise history...John Thomson would cash in for the 13th on Sept. 30.
- Jason is one of only nine other NL rookies to throw a complete-game in 2001.
- Jason's bat (Juan Uribe model) was sent to the Baseball Hall-of-Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
THREE FOR THE ROAD... Jason followed up his grand debut with two more wins in as many starts...his scoreless innings streak to begin his career reached 13.0 innings as he finally allowed his first major league run to score in the fifth inning of his second start on Aug. 29 at Los Angeles...the streak matched a club season high.
- Pitched six innings at Dodger Stadium in that second start, giving up eight hits and two earned runs in getting his second straight win...he joined Bryan Rekar, who won his first three (July 19-29, 1995), as the only pitchers in club history to win their first two starts.
- He then tied Rekar as he won his third game in as many starts, beating the Giants at San Francisco on Labor Day, Sept. 3...Jennings threw seven innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run...he became just the sixth pitcher in the majors to win his first three starts since 1993 and first since Philadelphia's Randy Wolf in 1999.
- Fell short in his bid to become the first Rockie to win his first four starts, suffering his first career loss in his home debut, Sept. 8 vs. San Francisco (5.2 ip, 9 h, 4 er).
JEKYLL & HYDE... After beginning his career in brilliant fashion, 3-0, 1.23 ERA (22.0 ip, 3 er) in his first three games, Jennings struggled in his next three starts.
- In starts vs. SF (Sept. 8), at Montreal (Sept. 21) and vs. San Diego (Sept. 27), Jennings allowed 18 earned runs in 11.1 innings (14.29 ERA).
- He pitched 4.1 against the Expos, giving up six earned runs...followed that up with his shortest stint as a Rockie against the Padres, where he faced 12 batters, allowing nine to reach base safely in 1.1 ip with seven earned runs.
THE CAPPER... The 23-year old right-hander finished his rookie season as he started it--with a shutout, although he needed a little help this time.
- Jennings combined with Justin Speier, Jay Powell and Jose Jimenez to blank the Padres on Oct. 5 at Qualcomm.
- Jennings tossed 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and three walks until pulled after 92 pitches...Rockies won 4-0.
AT COORS FIELD: At Coors, he was 0-1 with a 14.14 ERA (7.0 ip, 11 er).
ON THE ROAD: On the road, he was 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA (32.1 ip, 9 er).
WITH THE BAT: Started off the year 3-for-5 but went just 1-for-10 after that...for the season, he hit .267 (4-for-15) with a home run, two RBI, a sacrifice hit and one walk.
2000
Was a non-roster invitee to the Rockies major league spring camp and then split his year between Salem (A) and Carolina (AA)...Jennings went 7-10 with a 3.47 ERA in 22 starts at Salem with the first three complete games of his pro career...was moved to Carolina late in the season and in his AA debut made six starts for the Mudcats... was 1-3 with a 3.44 ERA...combined at the two stops was 8-11 in 28 starts with a 3.43 ERA (189.0 ip, 72 er).
1999
After signing his first pro contract reported to Portland (A) of the Northwest League...made just two starts where he allowed just one earned run over 9.0 innings before he was moved to Asheville (A) where he went 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA in 12 starts...for his first pro season he was a combined 3-2 with a 3.34 ERA in 14 starts with just 10 walks and 80 strikeouts over 67.1 innings.
AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY...Following his junior season at Baylor Jennings was named by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball as the 1999 National Player of the Year...in his final season at Baylor, he struck out 172 hitters in 146.2 innings and hit .382 with 17 homers and 68 RBI...he also garnered his second consecutive Big 12 Player of the Year, consensus All-America honors, the Outstanding Player on the 1999 Big 12 All Tournament Team and a spot on the 1999 All-Big 12 Academic First Team.
