Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon hilariously told an opponent he was going to strike out on purpose because he didn't want to swing the bat

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Via MASN

New York Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon is having another solid season on the mound, and he even reached a career milestone this year when he hit his first home run.

But during the Mets' 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday night, Colon did not have another home run on his mind.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Colon went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts during two plate appearances on Monday, and he said after the game that his strikeouts were predetermined — he even told the opposing catcher ahead of time. According to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, Colon's back was bothering him, so going for a hit wasn't worthwhile.

At the plate, Colon did his best to not contribute to [Gio] Gonzalez's rough night, telling catcher Wilson Ramos he wasn't going to swing.

"I swing at the balls pretty hard and I thought, not worth making my back worse, so I told their catcher from the beginning, 'Just throw it right down the middle, I'm not swinging,'" Colon said through a translator. "After that first at-bat and they threw me that changeup, I was like: 'No, I promise you. Throw it right down the middle. I am not going to swing.'"

The specific at-bat seems to have come during the sixth inning, when Colon looked uninterested in swinging at the ball.

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Colon did handle his business on the mound, however, picking up a win after allowing five hits and one run with two strikeouts over seven innings.

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