The ageless wonder Bartolo Colon was nothing short of magnificant last night. In a 3-1 Mets win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Colon tossed a beauty of a game by going eight innings strong while allowing no runs. He gave up just four hits and finished the night striking out nine batters and walking just one.
It appears as though Colon enjoys facing the Phillies this year. In four starts against them, he has won all of them. This one, on the last day of August with the Mets holding a 5.5 game lead against the Nationals, was the biggest win of them all.
It was the Mets 10th straight win over the Phillies, a franchise record for the longest winning streak against them. Colon, who looked as sharp as he’s ever been this year, tied his season high of nine strikouts and was in command the entire game. He now is 12-11 on the year and has thrown 16.0 consecutive scoreless innings.
Terry Collins, who admitted he probably would have kept Colon in for the ninth inning last year, opted to go with his red-hot closer Jeurys Familia instead. It ended up getting a little dicey for Familia as he gave up two hits and one run, but ultimately he was able to notch his 36th save of the season and preserve the win for Colon.
“I’ve got one of the best closers in the game. It’s a closing situation. I’m closing with him,” said Collins.
The Mets finished the month of August with a 20-8 record. The last time they accomplished a month of 20 or more wins was in August of 2000, which happened to be another special year for the Mets.
Colon not only did it with his arm last night, he also dazzled the crowd with his 7th hit of the season. The single in the 5th inning was a new career high for Colon, who previously had six hits back in 2002.
“I’m really happy for that one, to accomplish that, my own personal record,” Colon said via a translator. “Now I’m going to keep working hard to see if I can break my own record and establish a new record, eight hits.” (ESPN New York)
While Colon may not be competitng for a bid to be a starter in the playoffs should the Mets get there, he is however playing for a roster spot. As we saw this past Saturday, Terry Collins will not hesistate to bring him out of the pen if he is needed. Something they may look to do if they make the postseason.
I’d say these last two starts against the Phillies has helped his cause.
