Colon Looks Like a Big Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s too early to tell whether the planets and the moon and stars will be aligned for Bartolo Colon to start the July 12 All-Star game in Detroit, but the Angel right-hander couldn’t be any better positioned for the American League honor.

Colon, dominant for seven innings before succumbing in the eighth to the residual effects of a stomach virus, gave up three runs and four hits in 7 1/3 innings to lead the Angels to a 5-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals in Kauffman Stadium on Saturday night, improving to 11-4 with a 3.06 earned-run average.

Colon, who struck out five and walked none, is tied for second in the league in wins, ranks fourth in ERA and is seventh with 87 strikeouts. He gave up only one hit, an infield single, before the eighth, an inning in which he felt light-headed, weak and was having trouble breathing.

Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona is expected to choose his All-Star starter from a small pool of candidates that includes Colon, Toronto’s Roy Halladay (11-4, 2.40 ERA) and Chicago’s Mark Buehrle (10-1, 2.42 ERA) and Jon Garland (13-3, 3.29 ERA).

Working in Colon’s favor is the fact that the All-Star game falls on his regular night to pitch.

Colon said he had no doubt he would make his next start Thursday night against Seattle, and that would put him in line to pitch the following Tuesday night on his regular four days’ rest. All-Star teams will be announced today.

“From the middle of last season to now, he’s been as good as any pitcher in baseball,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“He’s been the lead dog in our rotation, and he’s an All-Star in my mind, no question.... There are several candidates [to start], and he’s up there with them. He’ll be fresh, so I’m sure that will be a consideration.”

Colon, who threw 100 pitches Saturday, 73 for strikes, has lost only once since May 7 and is on track to become the Angels’ first 20-game winner since Nolan Ryan went 22-16 in 1974.

Since his shaky first half of 2004, when he went 6-8 with a 6.38 ERA while coping with a nagging left ankle injury, Colon is 23-8 with a 3.33 ERA in 33 starts.

“Being able to throw any pitch in any given count is the biggest difference,” Colon, who features a hard four-seam fastball, a sinking two-seam fastball, curve and changeup, said through an interpreter. “Maybe I didn’t have the confidence to do that last year, and I found it in the second half.”

He also credited the handful of innings he pitched in the Dominican Winter League and a more rigorous winter training regimen as factors in his dominant first half.

“That got me in shape a little earlier, and that transferred into spring training and into the first half,” Colon said. “I know I needed to get in tune with the [winter workout] program from day one. I almost had no off-season.”

As strong as Colon has felt this season, he had to be escorted off the mound by Scioscia and trainer Ned Bergert in the eighth inning Saturday night. After Emil Brown’s leadoff double, Tony Graffanino’s one-out single and Ruben Gotay’s two-run single trimmed the Angel lead to 5-2, it was apparent Colon, who was too ill to join the team for three days in Texas last week, was laboring.

“He felt strong all game, but he hit a wall in the eighth,” Scioscia said. “He got a little zapped.”

Said Colon: “I tried to take deep breaths and couldn’t get them. Mike told me I looked a little pale. I’m glad he recognized that.”

Scioscia summoned closer Francisco Rodriguez, who needed the work -- the right-hander had only two save opportunities since June 12. Rodriguez gave up a two-out, RBI double to David DeJesus, which made it 5-3, but he got Angel Berroa to pop to third to end the eighth and retired the side in order in the ninth for his 15th save.

The Angels built the 5-0 lead with single runs in the first (Darin Erstad’s RBI single), third (Garret Anderson’s RBI double), fourth (Dallas McPherson’s RBI single), fifth (Vladimir Guerrero’s RBI single) and eighth (Maicer Izturis’ RBI single) innings. Leadoff batter Chone Figgins had three hits and two runs.

Guerrero is expected to be voted into the AL starting lineup by fans, and Anderson and Colon appear to be locks to make the team.

“I would love to represent the Angels; it would be a great honor to go again,” said Colon, an All-Star with Cleveland in 1998. “But if not, I’m still happy.”