(Neil Miller/Sportsday Wire)
Veteran Mets hurler Bartolo Colon (9-4) won his ninth game of the season on Friday night at Citi Field. The victory came after the Mets had lost six of their previous nine contests.
The 42 year-old began the game in a very impressive fashion by retiring 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. The very hot hitting Atlanta first sacker, Freddie Freeman, who was hitting .375 in June, got the first hit yielded by Colon with one out in the fourth frame. The Mets then took no chances with the 25 year-old, known as a “Met killer”, as he was walked in his next three trips to the plate.
The fifth frame was the only inning in which Colon gave up runs. The first three Atlanta batters singled to load the bases. A ground out by Atlanta starter Alex wood scored the first run for the Braves. The second run was driven in on a double by second baseman Jace Peterson.
After the game, Colon, through an interpreter, said he was adversely affected by the weather that inning, “I was a little tired. It was hot and humid, but I got out of the jam.”
Juan Uribe began the sixth, Colon’s last inning on the mound, with a double, but was unable to advance from second.
Colon did not come out for the seventh inning as he had already thrown 100 pitches. Mets skipper Terry Collins asked reporters during the post-game press conference, “When do you see he [Colon] has 100 pitches in six innings?” It was the first game this year that Colon has thrown that many pitches.
The manager answered his own rhetorical question in his assessment of Colon’s performance, “Today, he didn’t have his good stuff. He was up in the zone. He really had to work for it.”
The win for Colon was the 25th straight decision in which the veteran pitcher was involved. His won/lost mark in that period is 16-9. Although he tied the Mets mark previously achieved by Dwight Gooden, Colon’s record of games without a no-decision is 30, which he accomplished as a member of the Angels more than a decade ago.
Colon’s expressed happiness for his current streak, “It’s [25] a key number in my personal life [his mother’s birthdate]. It’s an honor.”
Collins gave credit to Colon for his effort during the game, “He battled so well.’
Colon was pleased to be among the major league leaders with nine wins, “it’s a great feeling. It reminds me of 2013 [when he was 18-6]. I was pitching well with good results.”