Colon pitches 5 solid innings in return to majors in Red Sox 6-3 win over Royals

Bartolo Colon made a solid return to the majors after recovering from an elbow injury, posting his first win since last June as Boston beat Kansas City 6-3 on Wednesday.

The 2005 Cy Young pitching award winner allowed two runs and struck out four in five innings in his first game since Sept. 29, when he pitched one scoreless relief inning for the Los Angeles Angels. He became a free agent after the season then signed a minor league contract with Boston on Feb. 25.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, including a leadoff homer in the first, and scored three runs for Boston, which won its sixth straight, while Dustin Pedroia had three hits and Jason Varitek added …