It's as though Colon never was on DL

Forget the order of the rotation and where Bartolo Colon pitches in it.

On Saturday, the Yankees got their co-ace back.

Back after going on the disabled list June 12 with a strained left hamstring, Colon shut out the Mets in his six innings in the Yankees' 5-2 victory at Citi Field.

"I'd put him up against anyone right now,'' Mark Teixeira said. "Hopefully, the hamstring thing is behind him and he's going to be healthy for us for the rest of the season. He's huge to have in the rotation because we need top-line pitchers like that in our division.''

The 38-year-old Colon, who improved to 6-3 and lowered his ERA to 2.88, allowed five hits -- two of which didn't leave the infield -- struck out six and walked none. When he injured the hamstring June 11 against the Indians, he had allowed two hits in 62/3 shutout innings. He's walked three batters in 27 innings in his last four outings.

"A strike-throwing machine,'' said Alex Rodriguez, who went 2-for-4 and is 19-for-42 in his last 11 games. "He's incredible.''

Colon showed no rust from the layoff. His fastball reached the mid-90s in the first inning and stayed there even in the sixth, a characteristic he has shown most of his career.

"That's as good as I've seen him,'' Mets manager Terry Collins said, "and I've seen him really good.''

Along with the ability to maintain his velocity, a feature of Colon's better starts this season has been the late movement of his pitches. Of his six strikeouts, five were looking. Teixeira said the few Mets who reached base against Colon commented on the difficulty of hitting him.

"Most guys were so frustrated, they were just saying his ball was moving so much,'' Teixeira said. "And when your ball's moving at 92 to 95, and on the corners, it's just not easy to hit.''

After Jose Reyes led off the bottom of the first with an infield single, Colon set down 13 straight before Jason Bay reached on an infield single with one out in the fifth. Singles by Lucas Duda and Josh Thole loaded the bases. But Colon got out of his only jam by getting pitcher Dillon Gee to bounce into a 5-3 double play. "It was a big play for me and the team,'' Colon said. "And then the next inning is when we scored the runs.''

Curtis Granderson, whose 22nd homer broke the scoreless tie in a four-run sixth, marveled at a performance that occurred three weeks after Colon's most recent start -- and without a rehab appearance.

"It's amazing,'' Granderson said. "It was like he hadn't been on the DL at all.''

Manager Joe Girardi said a determination still hasn't been made about the rotation -- he and general manager Brian Cashman said they're still kicking around the possibility of a six-man rotation if Phil Hughes is deemed ready to return from the DL -- and whether Colon might need an extra day or two before his next start.

"You have to see how he is tomorrow before you make that determination, if he's more sore than normal,'' Girardi said. "But I didn't think he had to work real hard. In the fifth, he threw some pitches, but besides that inning, he was pretty economical.''

Colon threw 21 of his 80 pitches (56 strikes) in the fifth.

Whenever Colon makes his next start, Nick Swisher said if he shines again, it's beyond surprise. "The way he's been pitching for us all season,'' he said, "it's hard to expect anything else.''