New York Yankees: Bartolo Colon Has Solid Outing in 3-2 Loss to Rays

Was it just me or did Bartolo Colon hop in a time machine before the game tonight? While he's obviously not the old Cy Young Colon of 2005, this is definitely an outing the Yankees would like to see Colon repeat in the future. 

After his horrendous eight-run outing to the Blue Jays on July 14, Colon came out with a much stronger outing tonight. 

He gave up one earned run (three because he left two hitters on base who ended up scoring,) five hits, and struck out nine. 

More than a few people were starting to doubt Colon's abilities, and rightfully so. Given Colon's age, his history with injuries and recent performances—Colon was in the hot seat. He was under closer watch tonight and another bad performance could've been disastrous for him.

However, Colon did perform and now he can put the worst game of his career behind him. 

However, the Yankees would appreciate Colon ending his outing without leaving two hitters on base in the future. He did get charged with the two runs Justin Ruggiano and Sean Rodriguez scored in the bottom of the 7th which allowed the Rays to take the 3-2 lead over the Yankees, but the blame for those two earn runs is shared with relief pitcher Boone Logan.

Even with the 2-3 loss tonight, the Yankees can look forward to more outings like this from Colon. If he can deliver, it'll be a boost for a pitching staff that can definitely use some bolstering outside of Mariano Rivera and CC Sabathia.