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 Jeff Locke Jersey 49ers , 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, 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 Josh Rosen Color Rush Jersey , 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, 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 http://www.giantsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-cody-latimer-jersey , 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), 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.
—
Paul Stastny has made plenty of tangible contributions for the Winnipeg Jets since they acquired him just before the NHL trade deadline.
The latest example played out for all to see.
The center scored twice at Nashville in Game 7 of the second round in a 5-1 win Thursday night, lifting Winnipeg into the Western Conference finals for the first time.
Behind the scenes, Stastny is also making an impact with intangibles.
”Some of his best performances are things none of us get to see happen inside the dressing room and on the plane and sitting beside the players,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Friday. ”We knew we were getting a quality player – obviously, you can see that on the ice. A quality person Walter Payton Bears Jersey , we knew that from our due diligence in the past. But what he can bring inside the room … you don’t really appreciate until you have.”
The St. Louis Blues valued Stastny, too, but were willing to part ways with him in February because Winnipeg gave up a first-round pick this year, a fourth-round pick in 2020 and a prospect.
”Stastny is a great, veteran player,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. ”He plays a 200-foot game. He plays on the power play and penalty kill. He was a big pickup for those guys and he’s fitting in well on their team. That’s no surprise to anyone around the game.”
With more than 200 goals and 600 assists in Stastny’s career, the Jets invested in this season to make a push in the playoffs and it paid off.
Winnipeg will host the Golden Knights on Saturday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals .
”It’s one step closer to where we want to be,” Stastny said. ”It’s kind of nice that we play really quick, so in one sense we get to enjoy this then forget about it and then focus on Vegas right away.”
If a Game 7 proves to be necessary, Vegas will have to keep a close on Stastny because he has a knack for scoring decisive goals.
Just like his father, Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, who defected from Czechoslovakia with his brother, Anton, in 1980 to play in the NHL.
The 32-year-old Stastny has scored four goals and has eight points in four Game 7s. Just three active players have more points in decisive games: Justin Williams Chukwuma Okorafor Jersey Elite , Patrice Bergeron and Henrik Zetterberg.
When he was seven months old, his father scored in overtime to push the Quebec Nordiques past the rival Montreal Canadiens in division finals of the 1985 playoffs.
”Not that I know my dad’s goals, but I know that one,” Stastny said. ”Rebound off a draw. He still talks about winning that draw.”
No one drew up a conference finals matchup with Vegas and Winnipeg.
And, Stastny is determined to enjoy the ride and help his younger teammates do the same.
”As you get later in your career, you’ve just got to enjoy these moments,” he said. ”You’re going to have some guys that get nervous out there and that’s fine. It’s our job, older guys, veteran guys, to go out there and try to be loose and try to make everyone comfortable.”
Hundefreunde-Freiburg
Thema drucken
20.08.2018 11:02
Antworten
