Bartolo Colon threw six strong innings for the Yankees on Monday, furthering his case for a spot in the team's starting rotation. He allowed just one run in New York's 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. Colon is in a race with Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia and Sergio Mitre for the final two slots. The right-hander gave up two hits and struck out five during his 64-pitch outing. In four exhibition starts, he has allowed four runs over 15 innings.