Bartolo Colon stifles Tribe, helps A’s continue playoff bid

Oakland, CA, United States (4E Sports) – The Oakland Athletics bolstered their playoff bid Saturday night thanks to Bartolo Colon’s eight strong innings which led to an 8-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the second segment of a three-game set at the Coliseum.

Oakland came in one-half game behind Baltimore and Detroit for the second Wild Card spot in the playoff race.

The 39-year-old Colon (10-9) tossed eight innings of one-run ball against his former club for his third consecutive win at home.

Colon, who began his MLB career with Cleveland in 1997, struck out three and scattered five hits, beating the Indians for the sixth time in 10 starts.

The 10 wins made Colon only the third pitcher in Oakland history to triumph in 10 games at age 36 or older.

It was also the most for the former Cy Young Award winner Colon since he had a career-best 21 with the Angels in 2005.

Though he does not throw nearly as hard as he did back in his prime, the A’s veteran right-hander befuddled the Cleveland hitters with his two-seam fastball while throwing between 88 mph and 91 mph.

Cleveland’s only run against Colon came in the seventh on a two-out homer from Carlos Santana, his 13th overall.

Yoenis Cespedes led the Oakland offensive by hitting a two-run homer and driving in three runs in the win, the third straight for the club.

It was the 13th homer of the season for Cespedes, who hit Indians starter Corey Kluber’s 1-1 pitch to make it 4-0, capping a four-run burst in the third.

Oakland drew first blood with Josh Donaldson sending a grounding to score Cliff Pennington for a 1-0 lead. Josh Reddick hiked it to 2-0 with a double before Cespedes’ long ball.

Kluber (0-2) was saddled with loss after allowing four unearned runs on four hits and three walks in five innings for the Cleveland, which has dropped its last four.

The Tribe will attempt to salvage this series Sunday with Justin Masterson (9-10, 4.50), who is on a personal two-game win-streak. Masterson is 0-3 with an 11.08 ERA in three career starts at Oakland Coliseum.

Masterson will be opposed by Jarrod Parker (7-7, 3.71), who apart from looking to help the A’s win its fourth straight by completing a three-game sweep, will also try to avoid a loss in his fourth consecutive start.

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