Kim Byung-hyun on Sunday pitched six strong innings to post his first win in almost a year.

The Colorado Rockies pitcher struck out a career-high eight and gave up two runs and five hits in a 7-3 home win over the Detroit Tigers.

Having lost his previous five decisions, Kim finally won for the first time since October 2nd last year, while he was with the Boston Red Sox.

With the win, Kim (1-5) has earned a spot in Colorado's pitching rotation in showing more consistency as a starter than a reliever.

As a starter in his last four games, he has cut his earned run average from 7.84 to 5.91 and earned the respect of team manager Clint Hurdle.