Sunday’s start against the Phillies was extra important for Bartolo Colon.
Yes, it was critical for him to deliver a series victory over the Phillies, but it was an emotional day for the soon-to-be 42-year old veteran.
Last summer, Colon lost his mother to breast cancer. As such, he dedicated what ultimately became his league-best sixth win of the year to his mother.
“It’s really special because it’s Mother’s Day and I just want to dedicate this for all the mothers, especially for mine that’s not here, she’s in a better place,” Colon said eloquently after his win.
It wasn’t an easy day for Colon on Sunday, but he delivered both for the Mets and his mother. As he normally does, he found a way to get into the seventh inning on a warm and sunny day in Philadelphia.
In the third inning, Colon allowed a solo home run to Phillies starting pitcher Chad Billingsley.
“I tried to throw to the outside corner and the ball came to the middle of the plate,” Colon said. “I think anyone can hit the ball if it’s in the middle of the plate.”
He seemed to hit a wall in the seventh inning, although he had only thrown 80 pitches through six innings. He allowed a single to Grady Sizemore, a double to Cody Asche and a run scoring single to Cesar Hernandez. He was then lifted for Eric Goeddel, who allowed his first inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly from Jeff Francoeur.
“I made some good pitches. They hit the ball,” Colon explained. “They’ve got a good lineup. You’ve got to give the credit to the hitter. Those three hits, those were good pitches, but they put good swings on it.”
Overall, Colon was fine through the first six innings. He was a shade off with his fastball command on Sunday and paid the price against Billingsley and in the seventh inning. He might have been able to get away with his some of those misses in another ballpark, but not at Citizens Bank Park on a summer-like day, as that place swallows mistakes whole and can lead to crooked numbers in a hurry for either club.
Fortunately for Colon, the Mets offense took advantage of the Phillies mistakes, and they were able to tack on runs for him in the eighth inning, thanks to a Johnny Monell two-run double.
Colon has pitched into the sixth inning or later in all seven of his starts this season. He has not walked a batter in his last 40 1/3 innings, dating back to Opening Day against the Nationals. He has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the game (40:1), his one walk allowed in 46 1/3 innings is the lowest mark among qualified starters, and he’s averaging under one base runner per inning this season.
In 38 starts since joining the Mets for the 2014 season, Colon is 21-11 with a 3.95 ERA in 248 innings. He has the most wins and has thrown more innings than any other Mets pitcher in that span.
What he’s accomplished here is truly remarkable. He’s exceeded most every expectation which has been put on him to this point over the last two years. He’s as significant a leader as they have in the clubhouse, as he seems to be serving as not only a bridge to the next era of pitching for the Mets, but in many ways, leading the charge into it as well.
Should he continue this path in 2015, there shouldn’t be any reason why he isn’t in Cincinnati for the All-Star Game. And what a story that would be in the entertaining journey that is Bartolo Colon…
Just Mets 