By BRENDAN McGAIR
Sports writer
PAWTUCKET — Bartolo Colon pitched to rave reviews thanks to throwing five shutout innings in Thursday’s season opener. The portly righty said afterwards he expects to pitch again in five days, though stopped short in regards to what uniform that would take place in.
Skipper Ron Johnson defused all “Bartolo to Boston” chatter by confirming Colon’s next start would take place in PawSox togs, next Tuesday in a matinee (12:05 first pitch) against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
While there appear no issues regarding Colon’s velocity (he topped out at 96-mph), Boston’s higher-ups would prefer to see the 34-year-old Dominican Republic native stretched out a bit before being summoned. Colon threw 74 pitches Thursday, and though Johnson doesn’t have the specifics what his workload come Tuesday will specifically entail, the Red Sox plan on having him make three starts in Triple-A with the hopes of getting him up to 100 pitches in his third outing.
That means Tuesday could encompass something in the neighborhood of seven innings/85-90 pitches.
Colon worked out at McCoy Stadium Friday and appeared in good spirits. Johnson touched upon the positive trickledown effect a pitcher of Colon’s stature can have on a minor-league pitching staff.
“The way he approaches the game and handles himself on the mound, those are good teaching tools for the guys in the dugout or bullpen to watch,” said Johnson. “We’re not talking about a guy who was just a major league pitcher. He was an elite pitcher and not that far removed for a Cy Young [which he won with the Angels in 2005].”
Much like the 10,000-plus that flocked McCoy on a crisp night, PawSox catcher George Kottaras believed it might not be long before Colon is summoned to Boston.
“We were on the same page. He was throwing strikes and had command on both sides of the plate,” said Kottaras. “He was running his sinker in and was getting a lot of called strikes.
“It was a great experience and was a lot of fun catching him,” said Kottaras about being behind the plate for his first-ever Cy Young recipient.
Signed to a minor-league deal in February, Colon can trigger a clause in his contract if he’s not on Boston’s roster by May 1.  If he continues to deliver performances like he did Thursday, the Red Sox might just have the biggest bargain on their hands. 

Rain, rain go away
Thanks to Friday’s rainout, the Pawtucket Red Sox will carry an unblemished mark and a first-place standing into the first weekend of the season.
Of course, the record could be viewed as misleading since it’s only 1-0.
The first washout of the season results in a doubleheader today. It will be a single-admission doubleheader with both games lasting seven innings.
The first game features David Pauley for the locals against Indianapolis’ Ty Taubenheim. Game Two brings knuckleballer Charlie Zink for Pawtucket and he’ll be matched up against Luis Munoz.
Devern Hansack will start Sunday, the same day the World Series trophies are scheduled to make an appearance at McCoy Stadium.

Keepsake for Moss
It’s customary for whenever a ballplayer records his first major league home run to do whatever it takes to retrieve the prized item.
When your first round tripper comes in a strange land, it’s not exactly like the player can go up and offer tickets for the next game as part of the exchanging process.
Fortunately for Brandon Moss, he didn’t have to jump through hoops after blasting a game-tying ninth inning home run in Japan last week.
The ball was resting in his locker following the game. “I don’t know how I got the ball back,” said Moss.
Moss started at first base Thursday as he attempts to broaden his resume for a shot to land in the bigs. He made a nice running catch in foul territory in the eighth inning off the bat of Indianapolis catcher Jesse Chavez.
Prior to the game Moss was fielding groundballs with Johnson for close to 30 minutes. Expect the habit to be commonplace in the coming weeks as Moss continues to learn to ins and outs of a new position.
“I definitely wanted some early work and [Johnson] came up and asked me,” said Moss. “The whole goal is to get comfortable; you’ve got to put in your time and work.”
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EXTRA BASES: Pitching prospect Justin Masterson was sharp in Thursday’s opener for Double-A Portland. The right-hander worked four scoreless innings, allowing three hits, two of them infield singles. The Sea Dogs cut short Masterson’s night after 53 pitches after a power outage delayed the game for 27 minutes at New Britain Stadium. … When the Portland-New Britain series resumes today, Pawtucket native Jay Rainville will make his Double-A debut for the Rock Cats.