OAKLAND, Calif. -- Bartolo Colon never expected to be pitching at age 40, not in the playoffs, and especially not as the Game 1 starter. And not this well a year after being suspended 50 games for a positive testosterone test. The veteran right-hander will get the ball for the Oakland Athletics in the opener of their AL division series against Detroit on Friday night, his first post-season appearance in eight years. "It means so much to me. Im 40 years old and never thought Id be here," Colon said in Spanish. "It is more special, a lot. The first reason is because of the Oakland organization, and I thank them for bringing me here to pitch another time." A year after Colon missed the playoffs for the As while serving the suspension, he won 18 games and is getting another chance on baseballs big stage -- in his first playoff appearance since 2005 with the Angels. "The things hes done this year, we want him to have another four, five starts this year," catcher Derek Norris said. "Everything he gets, he has deserved. A lot of us may have been a little upset about the suspension, but he came in to spring training and he worked hard. It was noted that it was done with, we wanted to move on. He came in, worked his butt off, had one of his best years since his Cy Young year with L.A. and I dont even think any one of us in here even thinks about that stuff anymore. Hes proven to us that he made a mistake, he was sorry and he apologized, and he came back and he earned back his respect throughout baseball and through all of us." Manager Bob Melvin made the announcement before a workout Tuesday at the Coliseum, where the grounds crew worked to prepare the field two days after the NFLs Oakland Raiders played a home game. "Ah, its an easy one, hes been our ace all season," Melvin said of Colon. "We have that veteran presence thats going to lead us off we didnt have last year." It sure has been $3 million well spent by general manager Billy Beane, who gave Colon another chance in 2013. Eight months ago, Colon apologized to his teammates at the start of spring training, put his head down and went back to work. "He felt like he needed to do that, and he got it out of the way early and has been an integral part since," Melvin said. "It really has felt like since hes been here that he hasnt missed a beat and hes been here the whole time. Very disappointing for him to miss the end of last year for the reasons that have been documented, but hes done everything that he can to be the teammate that he is again. It feels like he was never gone." Colon went 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA in 30 starts and 190 1-3 innings. He became an All-Star in his best season since his 21-8 Cy Young Award season of 05. He might have a couple more wins had he not spent a stint on the disabled list with a strained groin. "You could tell how it affected him last year and how he missed out on a chance to be a part of what we did down the stretch," reliever Sean Doolittle said. "To have a veteran presence like that in your rotation, a rotation full of young guys, taking the ball every fifth day and you know hes going to go into the sixth or seventh inning, whenever he pitches, under whatever circumstances, its almost like you know what youre going to get out of him. Hes been a really good stabilizer for us all year long." The Game 2 starter for the AL West champions is rookie Sonny Gray, who will pitch in a ballpark he knows well with the home crowd behind him Saturday night. A.J. Griffin, a 14-game winner, is out with elbow tendinitis that has become worse as he has tried to pitch with the problem. He could be added to the roster for the next round if the As advance. Jarrod Parker will pitch Game 3 in Detroit and Dan Straily goes in a potential Game 4. "They made the decision," Griffin said. "Its a bummer. Hopefully I can bounce back from this in the next week or so and be ready for the next round." Left fielder Yoenis Cespedes said his troublesome right shoulder has improved "not a lot but some," and he joked he will play the outfield "even if I have to throw left-handed." Cespedes didnt play the final two games of the season at Seattle, and could be used as designated hitter if the shoulder isnt ready. "We just want to make sure hes healthy," Melvin said. "At the very least, hell be DH-ing." For Colon, this year will be far from his last as long as he can keep pitching. Then, he will return to New Jersey full-time with his wife and four children. "As long as I can and my body lets me," he said. "One year at a time." Colon notes he has "no idea what Id be doing" if he werent on a pitching mound. And, he doesnt have to be. All of that will come later. "Right now Im not thinking about it," Colon said. "This is my job."
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Cheap America Soccer Jerseys .R. Smith hasnt had a run like this since high school.MILWAUKEE -- A subdued Bronson Arroyo captured the mood in a sombre Cincinnati locker room Sunday after the Reds blew a late three-run lead and lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Sean Haltons game-ending home run. "That is probably as crushing of a defeat as weve had all year," Arroyo said. The loss dealt a blow to Reds pursuit of the NL Central title, although the team still has a hold on one of the wild-card spots. Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said his team is feeling the pain of the loss. "We can still finish strong, but that is not going to take away the sting we feel today," Baker said. "You have to feel the sting today and get over it tomorrow because we have another series tomorrow. This does hurt. It really hurts." Haltons home run with one out in the ninth came off reliever Zach Duke (1-2), the fifth Cincinnati pitcher. It was Haltons third homer of the season and first career walk-off. "As a kid growing up, I wanted to be a baseball player and a major leaguer. Thats the top of the mountain," Halton said. Haltons big blow came after Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez made a game-saving catch on a deep drive by Jay Bruce with two runners on and two outs in the top of the ninth. Gomez extended over the centre field fence to take away a home run from Bruce. "Same thing happened to us last time we came in. Gomez robbed us of a potential game-winning home run," Baker said. "I thought Jay got that ball." Gomez also threw out Brandon Phillips at third base earlier in the game. "Im expecting (Bruce) to hit the ball to centre field or the gap because hes an aggressive hitter and I moved a few steps to the right side and I could follow the ball all the way through and get close to the fence," Gomez said. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke noted that Gomez has made several home run-saving catches this season. "That was really well-timed. He knew he had plenty of time, plenty of distance away from the wall," Roenicke said. "Hes good at it. Hes made a lot of them." Bruce said the Reds need to put the loss behind them. "It is not always going to go our way, buut there are 12 or 13 games left.dddddddddddd We are fine," he said. "Obviously we would have liked to play better this series, but we cant change the past now. You have to go forward and take advantage of the opportunities in front of us." Jean Segura sparked an eighth-inning rally with a two-run triple after Reds relievers walked the first two batters of the inning. Jonathan Lucroy followed with a sacrifice fly to tie it. Jim Henderson (4-5) pitched a scoreless inning in relief to pick up the win. The Brewers survived a shaky outing by starter Yovani Gallardo, who was tagged for five runs on seven hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out five. Arroyo surrendered two runs on three hits over 6 1-3 innings. He walked four, struck out one and didnt give up a hit until Segura singled leading off the fourth. "I felt good through the sixth, but I was having a little bit of control problems with my sinker, it was moving too much off the plate," Arroyo said. Arroyo got into a bit of trouble in the seventh, walking the first two batters before retiring Caleb Gindl on a fly ball. He departed after issuing his third walk of the inning. The Brewers then scored a run on a fielders choice before Cincinnati reliever Sam LeCure retired Jeff Bianchi on a groundout to end the threat. The Reds got on the board in the first inning when Gallardo laboured through a 39-pitch inning. Phillips had a run-scoring single, Ryan Ludwick drew a bases-loaded walk and Zach Cozart delivered a sacrifice fly to help the Reds jump out to a 3-0 lead. Todd Fraziers RBI single with two outs in the third extended Cincinnatis lead to 4-0. Gindls leadoff homer in the fifth gave Milwaukee its first run of the game, cutting the lead to 4-1. Fraziers homer leading off the sixth pushed the Reds advantage back to four. NOTES: Reds RHP Johnny Cueto, who hasnt pitched since June 28 due to an injured back muscle, is scheduled to start Monday against Houston. ... Arroyo reached 30 starts for the ninth consecutive season, an active streak bettered only by Torontos Mark Buehrle, who has done it 13 years in a row.
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