Bartolo Colon shuts out Angels for 13th win

Before the 2013 MLB season, if you had told any rational baseball fan that Bartolo Colon would win 13 games, you would have been laughed out of the conversation. However, after Sunday’s dominant performance, Colon now has 13 wins… on July 21st.

The 40-year-old right hander threw a complete game, 4-hit shutout to lead the Athletics to a 6-0 win over the Angels, and it was another outstanding outing for Colon. His trademark control was on full display, as he walked only 1 batter, and Colon seemed to be at ease throughout the outing.

With the win, Colon lowers his ERA to a blistering 2.52 on the season, and through his first 135.2 innings, it is anything but a fluke. His peripherals are also tremendous, with a 3.17 FIP, a minuscule 1.06 BB/9, and a tremendous ground ball rate.

In this day and age, Colon’s performance has been met with a great deal of suspicion (after all, he was once suspended for PED’s), but I firmly believe that Colon is doing this cleanly. If anyone was pitching in a way that didn’t need extra power, it is Colon, as he is simply firing 90 MPH fastballs with pinpoint accuracy, and his walk rate (2nd in all of MLB) is the main reason for his success.

Colon’s success is just one of many for the A’s this year, but on Sunday, he was the main reason for their victory over the Angels. As his season progresses, it’s hard to see this crazy level of success sustaining, but even if Colon falls off of a cliff, Oakland would certainly have gotten their money’s worth on his modest 1-year, $3 million contract.