Colon has strong outing for Red Sox

Bartolo Colon was back on the mound Thursday in Fort Myers, Fla., throwing 94-mile-an-hour fastballs and exciting the Boston Red Sox general manager who signed him.

“He had more arm strength than we expected,” Theo Epstein said. “For his first time out, we were really impressed.”

So was the 2005 American League Cy Young award winner, who pitched in only 29 games the last two years for the Angels because of elbow and shoulder injuries.

“The past few years have been tough,” Colon said through an interpreter after his first spring training outing. “It’s that much more gratifying to see the results finally start panning out.”

The right-hander who once could throw 100 mph allowed a solo homer to Jon Weber, the next-to-last batter he faced in his two-inning stint in Boston’s 3-3 tie with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Colon allowed two hits and a walk with one strikeout.

The Red Sox also placed pitcher Curt Schilling on the 60-day disabled list and released catcher Doug Mirabelli.

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Brian Anderson’s bid to resume his major league career is over. An MRI exam revealed the Rays’ left-hander suffered a career-ending elbow injury during the sixth inning of Wednesday’s spring training game against the New York Yankees.

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Mark Hendrickson took a major step toward being selected the opening day starter for the Florida Marlins, pitching five strong innings in a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals in Viera, Fla.

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The St. Louis Cardinals reached an agreement with pitcher Kyle Lohse on a $4.25-million, one-year contract.