Three starts ago, Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon surrendered a season-high 10 hits and his personal four-game win streak was snapped. His ensuing outing, in Toronto, was the worst-case scenario as the 38-year-old former Cy Young winner looked more like a 40-something beer league loser. Next came an improved outing against Tampa Bay that nevertheless was a loss. So Colon put extra emphasis — and a little wrinkle — into yesterday’s start against the A’s at the Stadium.
“I pitched really different,” Colon, who also pointed to extended time warming to get ready, said through his interpreter after the 7-5 Yankees win. “I didn’t use my two-seamer. I used my four-seamer and my slider. So I pitched different than the last time I threw the ball.”
Different approach, different result. Colon (7-6, 3.29 ERA) came up a winner, ending that three-game slide. He went seven innings, getting in and out of trouble with the help of some solid defense. Colon, who got his first post-All-Star break win since 2005 — yup, six years — threw 71 strikes amid his 99 pitches, gave up eight hits, two walks and two earned runs and fanned four.
All those who planned on this from Colon way back when, raise your hands. All those with raised hands, stop lying right now. Colon, who surrendered two earned runs or less in nine of his 15 starts, has exceeded his own expectations.
“Yes, I’m very surprised since winter ball,” said Colon.
OK, there are some who are not surprised.
“I started seeing it in spring training,” Andruw Jones said. “I knew he was going to be good and he’s having a great year. He’ll give us all he’s got and give us a run at the division title. Everyone knows what he’s going to feature and he still manages to get outs.”
Colon, whose biggest glitch on the season has been a strained left hamstring that landed him on the DL last month and contributed to his mugging by Toronto, seemed to make the pitch or get the defensive play he needed when he needed it yesterday. After surrendering two runs in the second, Colon watched Curtis Granderson run down a shot to deep center. A double-play grounder snuffed the A’s in the third. A remarkable leap, catch and tag by catcher Russell Martin at home thwarted the A’s in the fifth.
“Everything was really good today: the defense, the pitching, the hitting,” said Colon.
Add it all up and Colon, for yet another start, eased the Yankees’ rotation concerns.
“I thought he threw the ball well. He gave us distance,” Joe Girardi said. “That’s what we’re used to seeing from Bart, where he doesn’t throw a ton of pitches.”
Distance and efficiency. Like the Colon of early in the season — he said that was how he felt.
“I worked really hard for today’s outing. So I felt like I did in the past, at the beginning of the season,” said Colon.
