Colon in Full-Scale Slump

There is no weight clause in Bartolo Colon’s hefty four-year, $51-million contract, but the Angels might be checking the fine print for a wait clause, as in how long do we have to wait for this guy to start pitching like he’s supposed to?

Colon showed few signs of emerging from a brutal slump that reached nine games Saturday night, when the burly right-hander and supposed staff ace was rocked for six runs and nine hits in six innings of the Angels’ 10-5 interleague loss to the Chicago Cubs before a sellout crowd of 43,722 in Angel Stadium.

A three-run rally in the sixth inning that pulled the Angels to 6-5 nearly obscured Colon’s awful start, but Cub reliever Mike Remlinger struck out Chone Figgins with two runners on, and Kyle Farnsworth retired Vladimir Guerrero on a popup to first to end the inning.

Chicago roughed up usually reliable right-hander Kevin Gregg for four runs and three hits in the eighth to take a 10-5 lead and survived another scare in the bottom of the inning.

The Angels loaded the bases with two out against reliever Kent Mercker when Casey Kotchman was hit by a pitch, Adam Kennedy walked and Figgins singled. But Cub Manager Dusty Baker summoned closer LaTroy Hawkins, who struck out Guerrero swinging with a 94-mph fastball down the middle.

Colon fell to 4-5 and his earned-run average rose to a team-high 6.24. He he has one win since April 22. The Angels paid big money for Colon to be a front-of-the-rotation starter, but the way he’s pitching, it might be tough for the Angels to keep him in the rotation.

Colon, whose mechanics have suffered in recent weeks because of a minor injury to his left ankle, has given up 45 earned runs and 66 hits, including 13 home runs, in 49 innings of his last nine games for an 8.27 ERA.

“This team got me for a reason, to do a good job,” Colon said through an interpreter. “I tell myself that this has got to stop, and it keeps piling on. I know what the fans and the team expect from me. I have to get back to that level.”

While Colon put himself through the wringer, Manager Mike Scioscia ran his start through the spin cycle.

“His stuff was good,” Scioscia said of Colon. “The Cubs got some fastballs to hit, and they didn’t miss them. His delivery was much more consistent, and he made some good pitches. It was a step forward for Bart, even though you look at the line score and it makes you wonder. Now he’s got to get the results.”

Indeed, Colon’s fastball seemed to have a little more life Saturday night, reaching 97 mph on occasion. He looked decent when he retired the side in order in the first and sixth innings.

But in between, Colon was tagged for three home runs, by Aramis Ramirez in the second, Todd Hollandsworth in the fourth and Todd Walker in the fifth.

Walker’s homer to lead off the fifth gave the Cubs a 4-1 lead, and Colon retired the next two batters. But Colon then gave up a single to Ramirez and a double to Hollandsworth, putting runners on second and third.

Colon jumped ahead of Derrek Lee with a 1-and-2 count but followed with three straight balls, all of which he thought were strikes, for a walk to load the bases.

Perhaps frustrated by umpire Brian Gorman’s strike zone, Colon gave up a two-run single to Corey Patterson that capped a three-run inning, gave Chicago a 6-1 lead and sparked another round of boos from the crowd.

Scioscia, though, said the Angels have not lost confidence in Colon and added that he had no plans to drop him from the rotation.

“Bart’s struggles are explainable,” Scioscia said. “The only time you would ever consider doing something to a guy with his talent is if health was a concern, and that’s not an issue right now.”

His teammates almost got Colon off the hook for the loss. Guerrero’s RBI single in the fifth made it 6-2, and the Angels opened the sixth with three straight hits off reliever Francis Beltran, singles by Jose Guillen and Tim Salmon and Kotchman’s pinch-hit RBI double that made it 6-3. Jose Molina’s RBI groundout made it 6-4, and Kennedy’s RBI single off Remlinger made it 6-5.

But Remlinger and Farnsworth snuffed out the rally to preserve the win for Glendon Rusch (3-1), who gave up two runs on six hits in five innings.