The Twins were shutout by none other than Bartolo Colon on Friday, the 43-year-old starting pitcher for the New York Mets who won his 14th game of the season and No. 232 of his amazing, age-defying career. Colon scattered three hits over seven innings and then stepped aside for two relievers who blanked the Twins the rest of the way. Jeurys Familia, the No. 1 closer in baseball, picked up his 49th save.
Meanwhile, the Twins didn’t do much of anything. Brian Dozier got a hit, Jorge Polanco got one as well and the third hit of the night went to starting pitcher Jose Berrios, who also took the loss and fell to 2-7.
Ervin Santana gets the ball on Saturday.
Extra innings…
-The Twins are now seven games away from losing 100.
-More names keep popping up for the front office jobs with the Twins. The latest news has the Twins interested in Mets assistant general manager John Ricco, Tampa Bay Rays AGM Chaim Bloom and Cleveland Indians AGM Derek Falvey. Names already mentioned include Jason McLeod, senior vice president of player development and scouting for the Chicago Cubs, and Kansas City Royals AGM J.J. Picollo.
-Before Friday’s game with the Mets, the Twins split four games with the Detroit Tigers, including a win over old friend and starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey on Thursday. Pelfrey, who originally came up with the Mets, had three uninspiring seasons with the Twins and won a total of 11 games. He signed with the Tigers this season and has done nothing special. In Thursday’s loss, he got the quick hook and was gone after 36 pitches.
-The opposing pitcher on Thursday was Hector Santiago, who won for the second time as a Twin and improved to 12-8 overall. Two more wins and the team has a 14-game winner. Imagine that.
-Slugger Miguel Sano has gone missing from the lineup because he is having his back examined.
-Mets pitcher Colon has had a pretty impressive career. His 232 wins include 21 in 2005 when he won the AL Cy Young award. He also (as of Friday) is a three-time, 18-game winner; a three-time, 15-game winner; and a four-time, 14-game winner. He’s 232-161 in his career with a 3.93 ERA. Not bad for a guy who is frequently ridiculed about his weight.