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Apr 4, 2008 9:44 am US/Eastern
Colon Throws 5 Strong Innings In Pawtucket
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) ―
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(File photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
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Right-hander Bartolo Colon pitched a one-hit five innings for a 3-0 win over Indianapolis in the International League opener for the Pawtucket Red Sox Thursday night.
If it was good enough to earn the 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner a promotion to the Boston Red Sox is the next question, since injuries have limited Colon to a total of only 29 major league appearances over the last two years.
"I know I'll be pitching again in five days," Colon said through an interpreter, Pawtucket general sales manager Cookie Rojas. "I'm not sure if it will be here or with the big club. It's their decision. Whatever management wants me to do, I'll be more than happy to accommodate them. But my arm feels good. I feel healthy."
The two-time All-Star, who signed a minor league contract during the offseason, faced just 16 batters, one over the minimum. He threw 45 of 74 pitches for strikes and topped out at 96 mph.
Colon allowed only one hit, a second-inning single by Adam Boeve, who was erased on a double play. He walked one, struck out five and ended by blowing a 95 mph fastball past Kevin Thompson for the last out in the fifth.
"I felt like I was really throwing consistently throughout the whole game," Colon said. "I didn't feel like I had to reach back and throw any harder (in the fifth inning)."
Colon was pleased with his slider, a perfect complement to a fastball he was able to spot on the outside corner.
"That (pitch) felt particularly good because it was really cold and I was able to throw it effectively tonight," he said. "But the cold weather has never really affected me because I've pitched in Cleveland where it's cold. The main thing for me tonight was making sure I had control of my pitches."
Colon threw as many as three balls only three times, once in the first inning and twice in the fifth.
Boeve drew a one-out walk on four pitches in the fifth and stole second base. Neil Walker then worked the count to 3-and-2 before Colon caught him looking at a third strike on the outside corner.
Craig Hansen, Dan Kolb and Lee Gronkiewicz completed the one-hit shutout for Pawtucket.
Colon was 6-8 with a 6.34 ERA last year for the Los Angeles Angels, bothered by elbow inflammation, and went 7-13 with a 5.72 ERA in 29 games combined over the last two seasons.
With 41-year-old Curt Schilling expected to miss at least half the season with a shoulder injury, Colon could become a starter for Boston at the back end of the rotation. If added to the 40-man roster, he would get a $1.2 million, one-year contract.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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