Colon Looks Like a Big Star

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

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.