rupturing an Achilles tendon in the loss to Georgia Tech.

NEW YORK -- One by one, the hard-throwing young starters on the Mets pitching staff got hurt. Bartolo Colon, like Ol Man River, keeps on rollin along.The 43-year-old limited the Twins to three singles in seven innings, Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera hit consecutive home runs off rookie Jose Berrios in the third, and New York beat Minnesota 3-0 Friday night in the opener of the Mets final homestand this season.If we wouldnt have had him in our rotation, Im not sure where we would be right now, Mets manager Terry Collins said.Matt Harvey hasnt pitched since early July, and Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz all have been slowed by injuries. Colon (14-7) made his team-high 30th start and lowered his ERA to 3.14.Matched against a pitcher nearly half his age, Colon also helped himself with his glove -- starting an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play in the first and covering first base on a grounder to the right side in the seventh. He also picked off a runner in winning for the fourth time in five decisions.The burly, 285-pound pitcher smiled when asked about his quick move to the third base side of the mound on Jorge Polancos comebacker, which started the double play.Thats a routine play. I always do that, Colon said through a translator.New York opened a two-game lead over St. Louis for the second NL wild card and is one game behind San Francisco.Hopefully he continues to pitch like that because were going to need him, Reyes said.Colon, whose fastball averages just over 90 mph, was a free agent when he re-signed in December. New York expected Zack Wheeler to return in midseason and for Colon to shift to the bullpen, a role he excelled in last October.We thought it was a good signing knowing that he would give us innings early, Collins said. And here he is right in the pennant stretch in late September still carrying the staff.Colon allowed soft singles in the third to Berrios and Brian Dozier, who extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a slow bouncer to third, then retired Polanco on a flyout to escape bases-loaded trouble. Polanco singled in the sixth.He doesnt miss spots, Dozier said. I was telling some of these young guys just to kind of watch him tonight.Addison Reed pitched the eighth and Jeurys Familia worked around a pair of walks to complete the three-hitter, retiring pinch-hitter Kennys Vargas on a flyout to deep left for his 49th save in 53 chances.The 22-year-old Berrios (2-7), who was 2 when Colon made his big league debut in April 1997, allowed two runs and four hits in four innings. He was impressed by Colon.To be able to paint the corners like that is awesome, Berrios said through a translator.Reyes homered over the right-field wall on a curveball and, three pitches later, Cabrera sent a fastball into the right-field second deck. Yoenis Cespedes added an RBI single in the seventh off Pat Light.After the Twins, the Mets host the Atlanta Braves and Phillies before finishing with a six-game trip to Miami and Philadelphia.All weve got to continue to do is not worry about anything else except our business of trying to win a game each and every night, Collins said.REFRESHEDNew York is 14-2 after off days. The Mets have one remaining, on Sept. 29.HAIRYMets reliever Jerry Blevins joined Cabrera and Reyes with dyed blond hair.WHOOPSCespedes tried for a nonchalant basket catch on Max Keplers soft leadoff fly to left in the fourth only to have the ball tick off the webbing of his glove for an error. Colon then picked off Kepler, originally ruled safe by first base umpire Brian Gorman but called out on video review.WHIFFSTravis dArnaud is hitting .109 (5 for 46) with runners in scoring position. ... Jay Bruce was 0 for 3 and booed. He is hitting .200 in September (8 for 40). ... Curtis Granderson was 0 for 3 and is in a 1-for-22 slide.TRAINERS ROOMMets: Cabrera left after eight innings because of a right leg cramp but expects to play Saturday. ... deGrom (right forearm soreness) is scheduled to start Sunday and will be limited to 75 pitches in his first appearance since Sept. 1. ... 1B Lucas Duda (stress fracture in lower back) is to be activated from the DL on Saturday; he last played on May 20. ... Matz (shoulder tightness) is to throw a bullpen Saturday; he has not pitched since Aug. 14. ... OF Juan Lagares (surgery to repair torn ligament in left thumb) was activated Friday. He has not played since July 28 and will be limited to a defensive-replacement role. ... INF Wilmer Flores, out since a home-plate collision Sept. 10, said he had an injection of painkiller in his right wrist Thursday and could return in a few days.UP NEXTRHP Seth Lugo (4-2) is to start for the Mets on Saturday, and RHP Ervin Santana (7-10) for the Twins. Custom Cubs Jerseys .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Ryne Sandberg Jersey Large . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. http://www.customcubsjersey.com/custom-billy-williams-jersey-large-300n.html Custom Ryne Sandberg Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Custom Sammy Sosa Jersey . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. DURHAM, N.C. -- Virginia Tech needs to do a better job of handling success this time.After reeling off a pair of league wins and taking control of the ACCs Coastal Division, the 23rd-ranked Hokies on Saturday face a Duke team that, on paper, they should have little trouble beating.Except that the last time they were in this situation, the Hokies essentially fell on their faces .Everybody was patting us on the back telling us how good of a job we were doing, we went up to Syracuse and got smacked around, coach Justin Fuente said. I think thats a pretty clear reference point for our guys in terms of the preparation and the intensity with which well have to play. The margin for error is very small.So is the gap between the Hokies (6-2, 4-1, No. 19 CFP) and No. 18 North Carolina, the Coastals co-leaders. The only thing separating them is the 34-3 thumping Virginia Tech laid on the Tar Heels last month, which means the Hokies are one slip-up away from ceding control to UNC .Fuente referenced us like the little kid touching the stove. Is he going to go back and touch it again or is he going to learn his lesson the first time? receiver Isaiah Ford said. And we want to be the ones that learned our lesson the first time.The Blue Devils (3-5, 0-4) -- the only ACC team without a win in league play -- are in desperate need of a turnaround.Their upset of since-struggling Notre Dame looks less impressive with each passing week, and Duke dropped three of four during October with the lone win coming against Army. They followed an encouraging loss to No. 5 Louisville with a defeat at Georgia Tech in which they gave up the go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes.The biggest thing is to continue to build this 2016 Duke team, coach David Cutcliffe said. We arent running from anything. Were working and were focused.---Some other things to know about the Virginia Tech-Duke game:AIR HOKIES: Virginia Tech has gained at least 500 total yards in each of their last two games and doing it against Duke would give the Hokiees the first such three-game streak in program history.dddddddddddd Ford (23 touchdowns, a school record) and Bucky Hodges (18) are first and third among active ACC players in career TD catches, with Hodges coming off a career-best 145-yard performance at Pittsburgh . Those two are enough to keep you up all night, Cutcliffe said.CAPTAINS CURSE: Duke selected four captains before the season and three are out for the year with injuries , leaving DT A.J. Wolf as the only healthy captain on the team. Leading rusher Jela Duncan was the latest to go down, rupturing an Achilles tendon in the loss to Georgia Tech. Hopefully, Ill be OK, Wolf said, dismissing a suggestion that the position is cursed. Bad luck for those guys.WILSONS TIME: The injury to Duncan means Shaun Wilson will be the unquestioned top tailback for Duke. Wilson, who rushed for a program-record 245 yards two years ago against Kansas, has 373 yards rushing and two touchdowns this season.BIG PLAYS: Virginia Tech will look to take advantage of Dukes knack for giving up big plays. Of the five touchdowns allowed by the Blue Devils against Georgia Tech, three covered at least 20 yards -- including an 82-yard TD run by Justin Thomas and a 21-yard scoring pass in the final minutes. I think our guys are conscious of trying to get north and south with the ball after they do catch it, Fuente said.UNI WATCH: Duke is breaking out Battleship Grey helmets to commemorate 75 years since the Rose Bowl was held at Wallace Wade Stadium because of World War II. The helmet logo is a nod to the 88th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army that was nicknamed the Blue Devils.---AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz Jr. in Blacksburg, Virginia, contributed to this report.---Follow Joedy McCreary at http://twitter.com/joedyap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/joedy-mccreary---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '