Almost 45, Colon pitches Rangers to victory over Toronto Blue Jays

TORONTO (AP) — Whatever is written across the jersey Bartolo Colons wears, it always comes with the same letter: W.

Less than a month shy of his 45th birthday, Colon pitched seven efficient innings to earn his first win with Texas, helping the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 Saturday.

Colon has posted victories with 11 different teams in the majors, including the Montreal Expos. He is the fourth pitcher to win with 11 clubs, joining LaTroy Hawkins, Mike Morgan and Ron Villone — no one won with more.

"It's incredible what he's been able to accomplish in his 40 years pitching in the big leagues," teammate Delino DeShields joked.

This was his 241st career victory — two short of tying Juan Marichal's mark for pitchers born in the Dominican Republic, and four from tying the record held by Dennis Martinez for most among Latin-born players.

"He's closing in on a pretty historic mark," Texas manager Jeff Banister said. "You're knocking names down that some of these younger guys probably have to go back into the Baseball Encyclopedia to look up and see who they are and what they were."

"It's special, it's our history. It's special for me to even be part of it and see it. You may not get the opportunity to see these type of things, so you need to pay attention," he said.

Asked about his climb up baseball's all-time leaderboards, Colon displayed his trademark nonchalance.

"If I keep passing guys, that's good," he said through a translator.

Colon (1-0) gave up three runs and six hits, walking none and striking out two. He retired the first nine batters in his sixth game for the Rangers, including four starts, and he left with a 2.87 ERA.