The Rockies pulled ahead of the Cubs in the eighth inning today after a two-out, two-strike, two-run double by Dexter Fowler touched off a four-run rally. The 9-5 victory over Chicago puts the Rockies at 12-3, still the best record in the majors this season. The game also marked the major-league debut of pitcher Alan Johnson, who allowed six hits and five runs, four earned, in four innings.

On the mound, everyone in Colorado is waiting for star hurler Ubaldo Jimenez to return. Originally set to return tomorrow against the Giants for a matchup with the champions’ Tim Lincecum, Rockies manager Jim Tracy decided to start Esmil Rogers tomorrow to avoid a 9-day off stretch for Rogers. Jimenez will return Tuesday, instead, against the Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez. (Photo above by Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

Speaking of Ubaldo, today is the one-year anniversary of the Rockies’ first no-hitter, pitched by Jimenez in Atlanta, April 17, 2010. Here’s the cover of the next morning’s Sports section with our headline, “No-no Ubaldo!”

Denver-native Roy Halladay pitched the second postseason no-hitter in history for the Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 6. Nearing the end of a great season, which included a perfect game in May, Halladay joined the New York Yankees’ Don Larsen, the only other pitcher to throw a postseason no-hitter. Larsen pitched a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.

Compiled by Daniel J. Schneider, The Denver Post