If the umpires searched Bartolo Colon’s neck for a foreign substance on Thursday, chances are they only would have found peanut butter.
Other than for one abysmal afternoon in Southern California, the rotund right-hander has given the Mets exactly what they would have expected for two years and $20 million.
With a chance to win a series against the defending National League champions, it was Colon to the rescue for the Mets with seven dominant innings in his team’s 4-1 victory over the Cardinals at Citi Field.
The Mets (12-10) moved two games above .500 for the first time this season in taking three of four from St. Louis. The homestand continues with three games against the Marlins beginning Friday.
Colon (2-3) allowed one run on four hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. Daisuke Matsuzaka worked a scoreless ninth to record his first major league save.
“I think I did very well,” said Colon, who allowed a run on Tony Cruz’s RBI double in the fifth. “I hit that bump in the fifth, but overall I’m happy with my performance.
“I was having a little trouble with the slider, but I was happy with how things were coming out.”
After allowing nine earned runs in a loss to the Angels in his third start, the 40-year-old Colon has rebounded. On Saturday, he allowed three runs over seven innings in a loss to the Braves, despite concerns about a balky back.
“He pitched in, pitched away, the ball had some movement on it,” manager Terry Collins said. “I just think that’s his game.”
The Mets scored twice in the seventh to extend a 2-1 lead. Curtis Granderson delivered a pinch-hit, RBI single before Eric Young Jr. tripled and scored on Daniel Murphy’s single.
Granderson, who began the game on the bench so Collins could give Bobby Abreu a start in right field, has two hits in his last four at-bats after going 0-for-22.
Murphy’s RBI double in the sixth gave the Mets a 2-1 edge. After Young Jr. reached on pitcher Lance Lynn’s two-base throwing error, Murphy slashed a sinking line drive to center that skipped past John Jay.
Chris Young’s first homer in a Mets uniform, a blast into the left-field mezzanine leading off the fifth, made it 1-1. Two days earlier, Young was robbed of a home run when Matt Holliday reached above the left-field fence to make a catch on him.
“It didn’t eat my Wheaties that day,” Young said. “Today I ate them.”
Over the 10 games that followed Colon’s dud in Anaheim, Mets starting pitchers have posted a 1.84 ERA. Colon has a 4.50 ERA, but that number would drop more than two full runs without the Angels start considered.
“Our pitching has been unbelievable,” Murphy said. “They’ve worked fast, thrown strikes. I think that helps us on defense as well.”
But the Mets bullpen also continues to execute. In the last five games, their relievers have allowed two earned runs over 18 innings for a 1.00 ERA.
Carlos Torres and Scott Rice got the Mets through the inning on Thursday before Matsuzaka reached a perfect ninth. Collins indicated he wanted to rest closer Kyle Farnsworth, who had worked three of the previous four games.
“When we get runs, they are throwing up zeroes after that,” Murphy said. “Those are big innings.”
After getting four hits and winning on Wednesday, seven hits seemed like an outburst for the Mets on Thursday.
“Three or four runs seem pretty good for us the past week,” Young said. “So hopefully our pitching can continue doing what it’s been doing.”