Robinson Cano celebrating with Alex Rodriguez (Paul J. Bereswill)
Bartolo Colon is a lot closer to four decades old than three. His round body screams slow-pitch softball. And despite a fantastic first month as a Yankee, his best days as a major league pitcher are in the past.
Yet, has there been a more valuable pitcher in pinstripes?
Last night at Yankee Stadium the veteran right-hander sparkled in a 3-1 victory over the White Sox in front of an appreciative audience of 40,586.
“In the bullpen I felt strong, I knew I was going to have a good game,” Colon said.
It was better than good. In eight innings Colon allowed a run and seven hits. He fanned six and issued a walk.
“I felt pretty happy, my first [start] at Yankee Stadium,” said Colon, whose fastball reached 95 mph and stayed strong in the latter innings.
Robinson Cano’s three-run homer in the first inning off lefty Mark Buehrle (1-3) gave Colon all the support he would need to improve to 2-1 overall and 2-0 as a starter.
After flushing his last two save chances, Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save, ending the Yankees’ two-game losing streak.
No doubt the Yankees would have preferred Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte in the rotation. And Phil Hughes was coming off an 18-win season. Now he is on the disabled list and facing a possible circulation problem in his right arm.
Instead, they have Freddy Garcia and Colon, the Golden Boys.
How long Colon and Garcia can hold up physically and continue to pitch effectively is open to debate. Their age and injury history work against them. But for one month they have been everything the Yankees could have asked for, and more.
“He has been huge for us,” Joe Girardi said of the 37-year-old Colon, who says he weighs 270 and makes a paltry $900,000 after not pitching in the big leagues last year due to arm trouble. “Every time he has taken the mound he has given us a chance to win. His production has been huge.”
Cano’s locker is near Colon’s, and the second baseman understands his fellow Dominican.
“He doesn’t take anything for granted. He appreciates this opportunity,” Cano said.
As he often does, Cano spent part of the afternoon working on a pull drill with hitting coach Kevin Long.
“I was just trying to stay back, I was jumping [at the ball] too much,” said Cano, who hit a laser into the right-field seats for his sixth homer, scoring Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. “I always want to swing at good pitches. I am not looking to hit home runs, just get a good at-bat.”
Buehrle, who is 1-8 lifetime against the Yankees, didn’t allow another run after the first. In seven innings he gave up six hits, walked two and fanned five.
But Colon was better.
After pitching around Carlos Quentin’s two-out double in the first, Colon faced a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the second.
“I used my two-seamer [fastball] more than anything else,” said Colon, who caught Gordon Beckham looking at a 1-2 pitch, got Omar Vizquel to pop up to short left and induced a stress-free fly to center from Juan Pierre to leave the three baserunners stranded.
The Yankees, who scored two runs in the previous two games, didn’t tax the scoreboard bulbs. But with Colon on the mound, they didn’t need to.
And who would have ever thought in the middle of February those words would be spoken about Colon.
george.king@nypost.com