Zimmermann denies Colon's history bid, Tigers win 3-1
DETROIT (AP) -- Jordan Zimmermann denied Bartolo Colon's bid at baseball history, striking out 11 batters in eight innings as the Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 on Friday night.
Colon was trying to become the winningest Latin-American pitcher in major league history. He remains tied with Dennis Martinez with 245 career victories.
He pitched well, allowing three runs -- including homers by James McCann and JaCoby Jones -- in an eight-inning complete game, but Zimmermann (4-0) was better. The Tigers right-hander allowed one run and four hits and struck out 10 or more for the first time since his no-hitter for Washington against Florida on Sept. 28, 2014.
Joe Jimenez pitched the ninth for his third save, helping the Tigers end a three-game losing streak by winning for just the third time in 17 games.
At 45 years, 43 days old, Colon (5-6) became the oldest pitcher to throw a complete game since Jamie Moyer (47 years, 199 days) on June 5, 2010. Tim Wakefield and Randy Johnson are the only other 45-year-olds to pitch complete games in the 21st century.
Colon first faced Detroit on May 10, 1997, allowing one earned run in six innings for Cleveland in a loss at Tiger Stadium. He's the last active major league player to have played at Tiger Stadium, which closed in 1999.
The Rangers took the lead on the game's second pitch as Shin-Soo Choo hit a homer into the shrubbery beyond the center-field fence. The home run extended his on-base streak to 45 games, the longest in the majors this season.
McCann put the Tigers ahead with a two-run homer in the second inning, but Zimmermann and Colon took over after that.
The Tigers had the next significant threat, putting runners on the corners with two out in the fifth, but Jones grounded out to end the inning. Jones, though, homered off Colon in the eighth to make it 3-1.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: Choo returned to the lineup after sitting out Thursday. Choo is limited to playing designated hitter because of a sore quadriceps, and Adrian Beltre started there Thursday after an emergency dental procedure.
Tigers: Closer Shane Greene had tests on his sore pitching shoulder, and they showed no significant problem. Greene is eligible to come off the disabled list on July 12.
FAST GAME
The game was played in a brisk 2 hours, 5 minutes. It ended at 9:15 p.m., just four minutes after sunset in Detroit.
UP NEXT
The teams continue their four-game series on Saturday, with Cole Hamels (4-7, 4.05) pitching for Texas against Detroit's Mike Fiers (5-5, 3.79).
