Colon’s Latest Try Is a Royal Blush

So much for all that talk about getting off to a better start than last season.

Bartolo Colon, hoping to avoid a repeat of the early-season troubles that last year contributed to a career-worst 5.01 earned-run average, struggled mightily Sunday in his second start of 2005.

Colon gave up 11 hits, the most of his Angel career, and six runs in six innings during the Kansas City Royals’ 8-3 victory in front of 40,689 at Angel Stadium.

The Royals shelled Colon for eight hits and five runs in the first two innings, prompting a cascade of boos from fans who have cheered and jeered the Angels with equal fervor during their uneven start.

“They have the right to express themselves,” Colon said through an interpreter. “I didn’t do my job. Overall, they expect a lot from our team, and we expect to give them a lot back to cheer for.”

The Angel offense hasn’t been in a particularly giving mood in its first six games; Angel hitters are batting .221 and the team is averaging 4.2 runs.

But the damage extended beyond the Angel psyche in the ninth inning, when reliever Bret Prinz had to leave after spraining the back of his right shoulder. The Angels put Prinz on the disabled list and recalled right-hander Chris Bootcheck from triple-A Salt Lake.

“I threw a slider and something grabbed in the back of my shoulder,” Prinz said. “Nothing popped or ripped, it just tightened up on me.”

The Royals amassed 17 hits against four pitchers, with every starter registering at least one hit. Ruben Gotay had a career-high four hits, including a two-run home run, and drove in three runs one day after committing an error that paved the way for four unearned runs.

Pitching to backup catcher Jose Molina, who last season developed a strong rapport with Colon, did not seem to benefit the right-hander Sunday.

Colon (1-1) did not set down the Royals in order until the fifth and sixth innings, but that only served to put a decent ending on an otherwise forgettable afternoon in which his ERA increased from 1.35 to 4.97.

“Those guys squared up a couple of balls that maybe weren’t exactly where Bart wanted them, and that was the difference,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“When I made mistakes,” said Colon, who walked two and struck out three, “they made me pay.”

Brian Anderson and three relievers limited the Angels to six hits. Anderson (1-0) set down the first 10 batters he faced, four by strikeout, before things unraveled a bit in the span of two pitches in the fourth inning.

Chone Figgins hit a one-out triple to left-center field and Vladimir Guerrero followed with a mammoth first-pitch, two-run homer to left field that cut the Angel deficit to 6-2. Five of Guerrero’s 10 hits against Anderson have been homers.

The Angels put two on with two out in the fifth inning after Robb Quinlan reached on an error and Molina followed with a bunt single, but Darin Erstad grounded out. The Angels later put two runners in scoring position but stranded them as well.

“You just try to peck away, get a run here and there,” Erstad said of trying to rally from a 6-0 deficit. “We just couldn’t get anything going. [Anderson] got ahead and he didn’t walk anybody.”

Anderson, a former Angel, gave up five hits and three runs in six-plus innings, striking out five and walking none.

“When you’re down 6-0,” Scioscia said, “it really opens up a pitcher’s repertoire and at times pitchers can become more aggressive on the mound when they have a big lead.”