DENVER -- Rockies veteran reliever Jose Mesa smiled and reported that rookie reliever Ramon Ramirez was just fine after Monday night, when he gave up the first three runs of his Major League career after 13 1/3 scoreless innings.

Hey, the kid didn't burn anything. That's more than Mesa, who turns 40 on May 22, can say of his days breaking into the Majors.

"I used to rip my uniform and everything," Mesa said. "I'd throw the shoes in the garbage. I'd burn the hat."

Now, it would be wonderful to say that Mesa, who broke in with Baltimore in 1987, had that veteran to explain to him that desecrating his uniform was not the way to go. But even now, with his easy smile, Mesa is imposing at 6-3 and 235 pounds. Think about someone young, muscular and willing to engage in pyrotechnics.

"When I got mad, they just left me alone," Mesa said. "I just figured out, what happened, happened.

"The uniform's got nothing to do with it. The shoes have got nothing to do with it. I threw the pitch, so I should've burned myself."

Fortunately for fellow clubhouse inhabitants, Mesa learned to keep his fire within after joining the Indians in 1992 and watching veterans such as Dennis Martinez and Orel Hershiser handle their emotions. He grew into a pitcher who has earned 320 saves in the Majors.

Mesa calmly handled a two-game funk, during which he gave up hits to six straight batters -- five singles wrapped around a game-winning homer by St. Louis' Albert Pujols last Tuesday night. On Monday, he threw a scoreless eighth inning in the 5-4 loss to the Dodgers.

Manager Clint Hurdle did not use Mesa on Friday or Saturday, figuring extra rest would help. Mesa appeared in 21 of the first 37 games, but there was no warning for the lack of command he showed in the two-game rough patch against St. Louis and Houston.

"His command was much better," Hurdle said of Monday's performance. "He was down in the zone. He was able to spin the ball better. Basically, his last couple of times out he only had one pitch that was working. Unfortunately, he was elevating it. That was his fastball. It was getting stuck in the middle of the plate."

Hurdle appreciates that Mesa offered no excuses for bad games. Mesa said fatigue is never a factor.

"I'm used to throwing every day," Mesa said. "I just do a little long-toss and I'm ready to go."

More Ramirez: The three runs came against Ramirez on a walk and two hits in one-third of an inning, but Hurdle noted that it wasn't as if Ramirez was overmatched.

"I think he saw how innocently things can snowball at this level, because he's dealt with nothing but success and he's been in some tight situations against good hitters," Hurdle said. "When you look at that line ... you think, 'Man, he got hit.' Well, he walked the pitcher on five pitches, a four-hopper went through the right side of the infield and [Nomar] Garciaparra hit a ball off the end of the bat.

"The importance of getting the first hitter -- that heightens the awareness of it."

Another rehab start: Right-hander Sun-Woo Kim will have at least one more injury rehab start at Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Kim, placed on the disabled list April 18 because of a minor shin injury (truth is, he got little action in Spring Training because of injuries and his participation in the World Baseball Classic), threw eight shutout, one-hit innings in a start at Colorado Springs against Omaha on Saturday night.

But Kim, trying to use his breaking and offspeed pitches early in counts, threw just 12 of his 27 first pitches for strikes. He'll be asked to improve upon that on Thursday, when Colorado Springs plays at home against New Orleans. He could make one more start on May 23, the day his 30-day rehab window closes.

Up next: Rockies right-hander Jason Jennings (2-3, 5.05 ERA) will start against the Dodgers' Brad Penny (3-1, 2.66) in the finale of the three-game set at Coors Field on Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. MT.