The New York Mets won the series opener against the Brewers and seized their second victory in a row thanks in great part to another rock solid performance by their wily veteran Bartolo Colon.
For Colon, it was his fourth-straight quality outing, holding the Brew Crew to just one run in seven innings at Miller Park as the Mets took game one by a score of 5-2. Colon is now 2-0 with a 1.,80 ERA over his last four and he continues to steady the rotation with his craftiness and poise.
Part of Colon’s success is how he frequently gets that groundball when he absolutely needs it to stave off any damage. He induced three double plays last night to extinguish any potential rallies from Milwaukee before they even started.
“He’s irreplaceable, to be honest,” manager Terry Collins said. “He just takes the ball every five days, nothing shakes him up. I know the young guys will all be there like that one day. I don’t know if they’ll all play 19 years, but this guy’s a pro.”
“To have him in that rotation just really settles things down. He’ll take the ball, he’s good enough to know that there are going to be nights when he won’t be sharp, but the bullpen’s tired, and he’ll stay out there, because he knows that’s what the team needs. Those kinds of guys, they’re hard to find.”
Colon, 43, has thrown at least seven innings and given up one or fewer runs in three of his last eight starts. For the season he is 5-3 with a 3.08 ERA, 1.219 WHIP and a 1.60 BB/9 rate that ranks fourth in the majors. His performance last night even drew the praise of Brewers manager Craig Counsell.
“When you’re 43, you’re using your experience to your advantage,” Counsell said. “I also think he’s got a very simple approach to what he does. He’s really good with the fastball, he’s really good at controlling the movement on the fastball. He changes speeds on the fastball, but he throws, almost as much as any pitcher in the big leagues, exclusively fastballs. It’s a very simple approach, but he’s very good at it.”
After posting a 14-13 record with a 4.16 ERA in 33 appearances for the Mets in 2015, Sandy Alderson re-signed Colon to an outrageous bargain basement deal worth $7.25 million for one year and it has proven to be a brilliant decision. Once again, I tip my cap to you, Mr. Alderson.
