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Colon gets 200th win as Mets beat Phillies 5-4

By WTOP Staff

AARON BRACY
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bartolo Colon moved into an elite club on Friday night.

Colon pitched eight innings for his 200th career victory, Travis d’Arnaud homered and the New York Mets held on for a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Daniel Murphy recorded his fifth straight multihit game with two singles for the Mets, who have won 10 of their last 11 games in Philadelphia. New York has outscored Philadelphia 63-32 during those contests.

Marlon Byrd homered, Grady Sizemore drove in two runs and hot-hitting Ben Revere had two of the Phillies’ nine hits. Revere is batting a major league-best .388 since June 26.

The 41-year-old Colon joined Pedro Martinez and Juan Marichal as the only Dominican-born pitchers to reach 200 victories.

“I’m really happy to be in that category,” Colon said through an interpreter. “I’m expecting a call from those guys.”

He gave up one run and six hits, struck out six and walked none.

“It’s amazing that he’s still able to perform like he does,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Two hundred wins, that’s a lot of wins.”

Colon (11-9) didn’t allow a batter to reach second base except for Byrd, who led off the seventh with a drive over the wall in left for his 22nd homer. Colon departed after throwing 107 pitches.

“He throws a lot of fastballs but he changes speeds with them making it difficult to gauge the velocity,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said.

Philadelphia’s A.J. Burnett (6-12) surrendered 11 hits, tying a season high, resulting in five runs in his third consecutive loss. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two while falling to 0-4 with a 6.66 ERA in his last five starts.

The Mets nearly blew it in the ninth, when Philadelphia scored three runs on three hits.

Chase Utley doubled and Ryan Howard walked against left-hander Dana Eveland. Closer Jenrry Mejia relieved Eveland and Byrd singled to load the bases. Sizemore then lined a two-run double off the wall in right that trimmed New York’s lead to 5-3.

“I was praying for the ball to stay in the ballpark,” Colon said. “Thanks to Mejia for doing his job and holding his composure on the mound.”

Right fielder Curtis Granderson made a diving catch on Carlos Ruiz’s sinking liner to save at least one run for the first out.

“That really saved us,” Collins said.

After Cody Asche had a run-scoring groundout, Mejia struck out pinch-hitter Reid Brignac for his 17th save in 19 opportunities.

The Mets got on the board in the fourth inning, with Juan Lagares, Wilmer Flores, Granderson and Murphy each driving in a run. D’Arnaud’s eighth homer in the fifth put New York ahead 5-0.

The only spot where Colon struggled was the batter’s box, where the historically poor hitter went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts – two of which came on failed sacrifice attempts. A career .087 hitter entering Friday, Colon’s averaged dipped to .043 with 28 strikeouts in 46 at-bats this season.

Murphy is batting .456 in his last 13 games and upped his NL-leading hits total to 144.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: Three days after returning from a throat infection, outfielder Domonic Brown remained out of the starting lineup, but struck out pinch-hitting in the eighth. Brown missed three games due to the problem but was able to play beginning on Tuesday. He is 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in pinch-hit appearances since his return.

Mets: After experiencing soreness in his right calf during Thursday’s outing against Washington, Mejia threw off a flat mound and fielded shags during batting practice on Friday.

UP NEXT

Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels (6-6, 2.42 ERA) faces Mets right-hander Dillon Gee (4-4, 3.73 ERA) on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park, where Gee has struggled mightily. Gee has a 9.56 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) in Philadelphia.

YOUNG GONE

Following the win, the Mets designated outfielder Chris Young for assignment and called up Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Las Vegas. Signed to a one-year, $7.25 million deal in the offseason, Young hit .205 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 88 games with New York.

INJURED UMP

Home-plate umpire Mike Winters was drilled in the right forearm by a pitch in the second inning after catcher Ruiz failed to catch Burnett’s fastball. The game was delayed for several minutes while Winters received attention from the Phillies trainer. Following the inning, Winters went into the dugout and emerged with a bandage wrap around his forearm and remained in the game.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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