DENVER -- Tyler Matzek was nervous and wild in his bullpen session before his first major league start. When he took the mound he was nearly unhittable. Matzek pitched two-hit ball for the first seven innings of his big league debut before faltering in the eighth, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves 8-2 on Wednesday night. The left-hander retired the first 13 hitters and 21 of 23 before allowing three straight singles to start the eighth. His strong start to the game masked the jitters catcher Mike McKenry helped ease. "The first inning was really, really nervous," Matzek said. "Mac was calming me down, telling me it was the same thing as Triple-A, just go out there and play your game. I let it be a positive thing, not a negative thing. If I try to fight it, it turns into a negative thing so I was just embracing it." Matzek (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits and struck out seven in seven-plus innings. He also had his first hit and run scored. The Rockies had lost 11 of 12. He is the third Colorado pitcher in the last six days to make his debut and the first to get a win. "A masterful performance by Tyler. An explosive fastball and his slider looked like it disappeared," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "He had it all working. He commanded it. Very impressive." It was what the Rockies needed after they had lost 15 of 18. They broke out against Braves starter Julio Teheran, who had blanked them over six innings in Atlanta on May 25. Teheran (6-4) entered Wednesday with a 1.89 ERA, best in the majors, but Colorado scored three in the first on Drew Stubbs RBI double and Corey Dickersons two-run triple. Troy Tulowitzki and Justin Morneau had three hits each for Colorado. "It wasnt my day from the first inning," Teheran said. "I didnt have a problem with the grip and with my pitches. I think I got my good stuff. A couple bloopers that happened and they got me on a couple base hits." Matzek breezed through the first four innings on 39 pitches. Atlanta hit three balls hard, including a line drive by Teheran snared by Morneau to end the third. Morneau couldnt come down with Justin Uptons single with one out in the fifth to give the Braves their first baserunner. The Coors Field crowd acknowledged Matzeks early work with applause after Uptons hit. Chris Johnson followed with a single to right but Matzek retired the next two batters to get out of the inning. "He has good stuff, 94-95 mph fastball," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "The whole day youre talking to guys, Hey, this guy sprays it around a little bit. Be patient. Im not sure how many three-ball counts he got into, if any." Matzek didnt walk a batter and threw 71 pitches through seven innings before the Braves got to him. Johnson, Tommy La Stella and Andrelton Simmons singled to start the eight and make it 8-1.Franklin Morales came on and gave up a two-out RBI single to B.J. Upton before getting Freddie Freeman to fly out. Matzek received another ovation as he walked to the dugout when Weiss pulled him in the eighth. "It felt amazing. Great fans, great fan base," he said. The Rockies made it 4-0 in the third when Tulowitzki scored on a sacrifice fly by Stubbs. Josh Rutledge scored from third when Tulowitzki, who singled, was caught in a rundown between first and second in the fifth. Stubbs and Dickerson led off the sixth with consecutive doubles to give Colorado a 6-0 lead. Tulowitzki and Morneau had RBI singles in the seventh. Teheran allowed seven runs on 10 hits and struck out five in 6 1-3 innings. "I know it was a tough day for me. Im just glad that I was able to compete and get through six innings," Teheran said. NOTES: Atlanta C Evan Gattis singled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. ... Gonzalez was named one of the coaches for the NL at the All-Star Game in Minnesota next month. ... The Rockies optioned RHP Chad Bettis to Triple A to make room for Matzek. ... Justin Upton returned to the lineup after being removed in the first inning Tuesday because of a left hamstring injury. ... Atlanta will send Ervin Santana (5-2, 3.69) against Colorados Jhoulys Chacin (0-4, 5.35) on Thursday. Cory Schneider Team USA Hockey Jersey . Ribery terrorized the Schalke defence throughout and put the home side ahead in the 36th minute when he chipped the goalkeeper before stroking the ball into the empty net. The French winger struck again after the interval, combining with Thomas Mueller on the left before firing a deflected shot beyond the helpless Timo Hildebrand in the 55th, as Bayern bounced back from Wednesdays 1-0 loss at FC Basel in the Champions League. Brandon Dubinsky Jersey . The third baseman whipped the ball across the diamond to second baseman Aaron Hill. He quickly tossed it to shortstop Chris Owings, who flipped over his shoulder to left fielder Cody Ross. http://www.hockeyauthenticusaonline.us/Zach-Parise-Jersey/. The announcement was made by the hall on Friday, March 14. She joins Switzerlands Denise Biellmann as this years inductees to the Hall, based in Colorado Springs, CO. Ryan Kesler Jersey . LeBron James leads the Miami Heat in a quest for three consecutive championship titles, while Tim Duncan looks to add his fifth ring with the San Antonio Spurs when the series tips off with Game 1: Miami @ San Antonio on Thursday, June 5 at 9 p. Max Pacioretty Jersey . 11 Ana Ivanovic and American Sloane Stephens, and former world No.SAN ANTONIO -- Back at home, this blowout went to the San Antonio Spurs. Now they can clinch their return to the NBA Finals on the road, where they are the ones taking the beatings in these wacky Western Conference finals. "This is the craziest series Ive ever been involved in," veteran Tim Duncan said. The Spurs took a 3-2 lead in it Thursday night after Duncan had 22 points and 12 rebounds in a 117-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jekyll-and-Hyde series continued between the past two Western Conference champions, as the road team has been thumped in every game of the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Saturday in Oklahoma City. "I have no clue, honestly," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the disparity. "I think every game, its a different animal. It really is. We talk to our team about that all the time. You have no clue whats going to happen, how a team is going to come out, whether theyre going to be lethargic or hold the ball, get 50/50 balls or dont get 50/50 balls." Kevin Durant scored 25 points, but Russell Westbrook had only 21 points and seven assists after finishing with 40 points and 10 assists in Game 4. Manu Ginobili scored 19 points, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green each had 14 and Boris Diaw added 13 for the Spurs, who are a win away from returning to the NBA Finals after losing in seven games to Miami last year. The Spurs returned to the style of play that enabled them to win the series first two games by a combined 52 points. "We gave them everything they wanted," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "They got the dribble drive, they got the 3-point line, and they got to the free-throw line." The Spurs were also 13 for 26 on 3-pointers and outrebounded the Thunder 48-35. San Antonio also limited Oklahoma City to four fast-break points after giving up 21 in Game 4. After losing twice in Oklahoma City by an average of 11 points, San Antonio upped its winning margin in San Antonio to 26.7 points. Oklahoma City had just 34 points in the second half after scoring 32 in the first quarter. "Our shots werent falling for us," Durant said. "Weve got to stay aggressive and weve got to get stops. When we cant make a shot, weve got to play defence, and we didnt tonight." San Antonio outscored Oklahoma City by 10 points in both the second and third quarters, allowing both teams to sit their starters for much of the fourth. Serge Ibaaka, who dominated the interior in Oklahoma City, was held to six points and two rebounds.dddddddddddd The Spurs started Matt Bonner in place of Tiago Splitter to draw Ibaka out of the paint and it worked early. It also helped defensively, as Ibaka attacked Bonner but missed his first five shots on a series of running hooks. Duncan was also able to help defensively, rolling over to block a layup attempt by Ibaka. "He didnt have the games that he had the last two games, thats pretty clear," Brooks said. "I thought his energy was good. He competed. He missed some shots that he normally makes. (But) it was everybody. It was everybody." San Antonios crowd was raucous from the start, booing Westbrook heavily during pregame introductions and erupting joyously when Green scored the teams first points on a 3-pointer 1 1/2 minutes into the game Oklahoma City withstood the early barrage, going on an 11-2 run for its largest lead of the game. San Antonio kept Westbrook out of the paint early, but that only opened up the lanes for Jackson, who made his first five shots. He had four straight layups and then drained a 3-pointer with Parker closely defending. When asked if San Antonio had done anything differently to keep him out of the paint, Westbrook said, "nothing." Three-point shooting got San Antonio back into the game, as Patty Mills and Green closed the first with consecutive 3s to tie the game at 32-all. Diaws 3 gave San Antonio a 42-37 lead with 6:12left in the first half and resulted in an Oklahoma City timeout. Ginobilis 3 gave a 65-52 lead with 6.9 seconds left in the first half. Ginobilis third 3 gave San Antonio an 87-70 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the third. NOTES: San Antonio used its 31st different starting lineup this season, with Bonner making his first start. He averaged 11.3 minutes in 61 regular-season games but his playing time has been curtailed to 4.8 minutes while appearing in all 16 post-season games. Diaw started in Bonners place in the second half. . Durant was sent back to the sideline after attempting to substitute with 10:29 remaining in the second quarter. A timekeeper told official Tony Brothers that Durant was not at the table in time to enter prior to an inbounds. "I was there," Durant said. "Thats (wrong). You know that." Durant was able to enter about 10 seconds later, however. . Ibaka wore a heating pad on his injured calf when he was not in the game. ' ' '