Bartolo Colon has long had two milestones on his mind. Now he has both of them in hand.
The 45-year-old right-hander overcame a sluggish start to earn his 245th major league win and match Dennis Martinez for the most by a pitcher from Latin America when the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 13-4 on Saturday night.
Colon already had the most wins by a pitcher born in the Dominican Republic L.J. Collier Jersey , having surpassed Hall of Famer Juan Marichal for that distinction with his 244th victory at Kansas City on June 18, six days before a loss at Minnesota. Colon won again Saturday in his first home start since June 6 to tie Martinez, who is from Nicaragua.
Asked if he was able to put all his achievements in perspective, Colon made it clear there were two that were especially important to him.
”Not every milestone,” he said through a translator. ”Marichal and Dennis Martinez, and I got those.”
The night was done for Colon (5-5) after Matt Davidson led off the sixth with a homer to center field that pulled the White Sox to 5-3. Four relievers closed it out for Texas.
”We want to be able, if he’s got an opportunity, to put the W behind his name to make sure he gets this,” manager Jeff Banister said. ”Obviously we want to win every game we possibly can, but a situation like this for him, and the overall history and his impact on the game, and impact on himself http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-marquise-blair-jersey , and just what it means for the game of baseball.”
Joey Gallo and Ryan Rua homered for the Rangers, who won for the 11th time in 13 games and clinched their fifth consecutive series. Robinson Chirinos hit a three-run double in the fourth inning that put Texas ahead to stay.
White Sox lefty Carlos Rodon (1-3) allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Shin-Soo Choo, who has a major league-best on-base streak of 41 games, didn’t play for Texas because of right quad soreness. Choo said he has dealt with the issue for at least 10 days and it really bothered him recently.
Chicago’s first two batters got hits, though neither scored. Colon then threw 42 of his 79 pitches in the second inning, when he gave up three hits and his only two walks while the White Sox took a 2-0 lead.
”He’s kind of my half-hero,” Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. ”I told (pitching coach Don Cooper), look at that guy. He’s still out there getting after it. Good for him. … Even though he gave up a couple runs early, he just kept pitching. No panic, no concern, just keep throwing strikes and let me see what happens.”
Affectionately nicknamed Big Sexy, the portly Colon retired 10 of 11 batters before Davidson went deep. Colon even got over to cover first base in time to get speedy Leury Garcia T.J. Hockenson Jersey , who dove headfirst as the pitcher took a toss from Gallo to start the third. Colon had a grin on his face walking back to the mound.
”I thought that if I didn’t get the guy out, I was going out,” Colon said. ”So thanks that happened that he was out, so I could continue the game.”
SHORT HOPS
Three White Sox pitchers combined to throw 65 pitches in the eighth inning, when the Rangers scored seven times. The big hits were a two-run triple by Elvis Andrus and a two-run double by Jurickson Profar. … Adrian Beltre had two hits, increasing his career total to 3,107 – the most among active players and three shy of Dave Winfield for 20th all-time.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: 3B Yolmer Sanchez was back in the lineup after missing the series opener with a bruised left quad sustained when he collided with Minnesota 1B Logan Morrison on Thursday.
Rangers: Choo doesn’t think his quad issue is serious, but said he didn’t want to make anything worse. ”I know I have the streak going on, but my body and staying healthy is more important,” he said. … LHP Martin Perez (right elbow) allowed two singles in six scoreless innings in his second rehab start, throwing 73 pitches for Double-A Frisco.
UP NEXT
Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels (4-6, 3.61 ERA) Jahlani Tavai Jersey , one of the top starters potentially available before the July 31 trade deadline, pitches the series finale. Hamels has a 3.28 ERA over his last nine starts. He is 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA in four career starts against the White Sox.
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Joe Flacco knows it’s easy to point to his increasingly gaudy stats or the rainbows he’s uncorking with ease as proof that he’s truly back.The Baltimore Ravens quarterback doesn’t quite see it that way.Sure, he feels great. Yet he believes the credit for his team’s hot start should go to the 10 guys on the field with him every play. They’re the ones doing the hard work. Flinging the ball all over the place as he did in a 26-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night is the easy part.“It’s not like today was the toughest Pittsburgh Steeler games I’ve ever played,” Flacco said. “I’ve played really, really tough football games against these guys and probably thrown for 150 (yards) but I take pride in some of those games because I battled really, really hard.”The battle was easier this time around for Flacco thanks to a redesigned offense that focuses on creativity and diversity. Flacco completed 28 passes to 11 different players while finishing with 363 yards passing and two scores as the Ravens (3-1) created some early separation between themselves and the Steelers (1-2-1).“The way our guys battled up front today and the way our guys on the outside got open, it didn’t have to be one of those (typical Steeler) games,” Flacco said. “I was able to stand back there with confidence and not too many guys around me, and that helps.”The 33-year-old Flacco stressed, “I’m not throwing the ball any different, we’re a better offense.”One that can attack defenses in a variety of ways. Flacco opened the scoring with a beautiful 33-yard strike to John Brown on Baltimore’s first possession and added a 3-yard flip to running back Alex Collins later in the quarter. He wasn’t quite as explosive, but perhaps even more effective in the second half while putting together four extended drives that ate up the clock and kept Pittsburgh’s potent offense off the field.Ravens head coach John Harbaugh gave offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg an “A-plus” on game planning Will Harris Jersey ,“We want to be creative, we want to keep people off balance but yet be physical with what we are doing,” Harbaugh said.Baltimore was able to do all three while ending a three-game losing streak to the Steelers, who find themselves tied with Cleveland for last in the division a quarter of the way into the season.“We don’t like where we are, but we accept it,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. “We understand that this is our doing. We just got to keep working.”STEELERS SPUTTERPittsburgh’s leaky defense has taken plenty of heat during the team’s sluggish start. Yet the offense looked ordinary for stretches and downright overmatched in the second half. The Steelers managed just 47 yards and three first downs after halftime.“I don’t think I’m on the same page as anybody right now,” Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said after completing 27 of 47 passes for 274 yards with a touchdown and an interception. “I’m not playing well enough. I need to play better.”He’s hardly the only one. The Steelers did nothing on the ground. Pittsburgh ran for 19 yards on 11 carries.“We were not able to find enough traction tonight,” Tomlin said.FLAG DAYThe Steelers entered the game as, by far, the most penalized team in the NFL. For the first time all season, the opponents drew more attention from officials. Baltimore was called for seven penalties for 50 yards while Pittsburgh was flagged five times for 40 yards.INJURIESSteelers: Lost wide receiver and special teams ace Darrius Heyward-Bey to an ankle injury in the first half. Safety Nat Behre exited with a pectoral injury in the second half.UP NEXTRavens: visit Cleveland to play Baker Mayfield and the Browns (1-2-1). Baltimore has won five straight in the series.Steelers: Welcome Atlanta (1-3) to Heinz Field.