Colon hits milestone in win over Mariners
Vet becomes top-winning Latin pitcher
ARLINGTON, Texas — Bartolo Colon became the top-winning pitcher born in Latin America, punctuating his 246th career victory with a nifty snag as the Texas Rangers roughed up Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners 11-4 on Tuesday.
The 45-year-old Colon, from the Dominican Republic, made his sixth start since earning his 245th win on June 30 that matched the mark held by Dennis Martinez from Nicaragua.
Colon (6-10) gave up four runs and eight hits in seven innings. The portly and popular right-hander walked none and struck out one.
Colon retired 14 of the last 16 batters he faced after Seattle had two triples in the third, an inning after back-to-back homers by Nelson
Cruz and Kyle Seager.
After throwing his 94th and last pitch, Colon reached out and snagged Dee Gordon’s comeback liner while slipping into a squat on the mound, but managing to stay upright on the inning-ending play.
Adrian Beltre, Jurickson Profar and Rougned Odor all homered off Hernandez (8-10), who allowed a career-high 11 runs — seven earned — in six innings. Odor also had a two-run double.
When Beltre struck out in the first against his old friend and former teammate, Hernandez laughed while playfully pointing him back toward the dugout. Beltre grounded into a double play in the third, but his 468th career homer was a solo shot to straightway center in the sixth that made it 11-4.
Hernandez, whose 168 career wins are the most by a Venezuelan-born pitcher, struck out two and walked four. He was hurt by two errors by third baseman Kyle Seager that led to four unearned runs.
The Mariners led 3-0 before Texas had a four-run third. Odor’s double made it 3-all and Elvis Andrus had a tiebreaking RBI single to extend the longest active hitting streak in the majors, and his career best, to 18 games.
Profar’s three-run homer made it 8-4 in the fifth right after Seager misplayed Beltre’s two-out grounder.