Texas’ Colon shines in win over Seattle
The line drive off the bat of Seattle’s Jean Segura was clocked at 101 mph. As much as Texas starter Bartolo Colon tried to get his glove up and shift his body, there was no way he could avoid being struck.
After Colon picked up the baseball and threw Segura out at first base, he laughed as the Rangers staff rushed to check on him.
“The important thing is we won the game and I was able to get the out,” Colon said through an interpreter. “He got me on the side. It was not in the middle. And I have a big belly so I can (handle) it.”
All kidding aside, Colon put together arguably his best performance of the season Wednesday, allowing four hits in 72⁄3 shutout innings and giving the visiting Rangers a 5-1 win over the Mariners. On the cusp of his 45th birthday, Colon was excellent spotting his fastball and using his breaking pitches to keep Seattle off balance, a day after the Mariners scored nine runs.
“Everything was working. My curve, my fastball, my slider — everything was working,” Colon said.
It was the second time this season he pitched into the eighth, the previous time coming against Houston when he was perfect through seven innings. Colon struck out two and threw 71 of 96 pitches for strikes.
“He was at his best today,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said. “I thought the key for him was he varied his speeds with his fastball extremely well. Primarily dissecting the strike zone with his fastball.”
“It’s unbelievable,” Seattle’s Kyle Seager said.. “He’s just executes and gets the job done.” Blue Jays 12, Mets 1: Toronto pitcher J.A. Happ reached base three times, struck out 10 and allowed only two runners over seven innings for the visiting Blue Jays. Justin Smoak, Teoscar Hernandez and Richard Ureña each homered and drove in three runs as Toronto piled up 15 hits.
Phillies 4, Orioles 1: Nick Pivetta struck 11 and Cesar Hernandez homered as visiting Philadelphia climbed eight games over .500 for the first time since 2011. Odubel Herrera singled in the first and extended his on-base streak to 42 games for the Phillies, who have won six of seven.
Astros 2, Angels 0: Justin Verlander pitched a five-hitter and Evan Gattis hit a two-run homer for visiting Houston. Verlander’s eighth career shutout was his first since August 2015.
Rays 5, Royals 3: C.J. Cron homered and scored three runs as visiting Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep. Cron extended his on-base streak to 22 games when he was hit by a pitch from Jason Hammel in a three-run first that included Brad Miller’s RBI groundout and Adeiny Hechavarria’s two-run single.
Indians 6, Tigers 0: Trevor Bauer limited Detroit to four hits and struck out 10 in eight innings as visiting Cleveland avoided a three-game sweep. Michael Brantley had three hits, including a solo homer. Tigers center fielder JaCoby Jones left in the third inning with a left hip injury.
Pirates 3, White Sox 2: Pinch-hitter Josh Bell singled home the winning run in the seventh inning as host Pittsburgh improved to 10-2 in interleague play this season. Chicago has lost eight of nine and 13 of 15.
Cardinals 7, Twins 5: Dexter Fowler had two hits, reached base four times and drove in two runs, and Matt Carpenter had three hits to lead visiting St. Louis. Bud Norris got five outs for his ninth save.
Brewers 8, Diamondbacks 2: Milwaukee’s Travis Shaw, Domingo Santana, Christian Yelich and Tyler Saladino homered in the first four innings off Matt Koch, who allowed all eight runs. Arizona finished a 1-6 homestand and has lost seven of eight heading into a nine-game trip.
Marlins 6, Dodgers 5: J.T. Realmuto hit a tie-breaking homer in the sixth inning as host Miami dealt Los Angeles its sixth consecutive loss. Justin Bour added a two-run homer and Starlin Castro had four hits for the Marlins.
Braves 4, Cubs 1: Ronald Acuña Jr. singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and host Atlanta added two runs on bases-loaded walks in its win over Chicago.
Yankees at Nationals, ppd.: The completion of a game between the Yankees and Nationals that was suspended by rain Tuesday, and the regularly scheduled nineinning contest, were postponed because of rain in Washington. The games were rescheduled for June 18.