Bartolo Colon turned in a near-perfect performance for the PawSox against the Indianapolis Indians last night, allowing only one hit over five innings while striking out five and walking one.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

PAWTUCKET – Bartolo Colon is looking very, very good.

Sort of.

Svelte, he’s not. Not at 5-foot-11 (tops) and 245 pounds (minimum.)

But he looked sharp on the mound in a dazzling, opening-night outing for the PawSox at McCoy Stadium, where he overpowered the overmatched Indianapolis Indians, giving up just one hit over five scoreless innings in which he struck out five, walked one, and faced only one batter over the minimum.

So, while he’s not likely to appear on the cover of GQ any time soon, Colon could be a candidate for the cover of S.I. — perhaps even before he turns 36 on May 24.

Here’s the pleasant predicament in which the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox find themselves: Bring up Colon, who won the Cy Young award with the Angels in 2005, or retain rookie Clay Buchholz as their fifth starter, behind Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield.

In the early months of the season, the best move may well be to call up Colon — who certainly looked last night like he’s ready to step into rotation in Boston — and option Buchholz, 23, to Pawtucket, where he can gain experience, having pitched just 38 innings at the Triple-A level last season.

“I know I’m going to be pitching again in five days,” Colon said last night in Spanish, speaking through interpreter “Cookie” Rojas, the PawSox’ bilingual general sales manager.

“I just don’t whether it’s going to be here [in Pawtucket] or with the big club. That’s their decision, not mine. Whatever [Red Sox] management wants me to do, I’ll be happy to do.”

There will be smiles at Fenway when they see Colon’s pitching line from his debut with the PawSox on a chilly evening when game-time temperatures were in the 40s.

Slated either to throw 75 pitches or go five innings, Colon breezed through the Indy lineup, setting the side down in order three times while throwing 45 strikes and 29 balls — a total of 74 pitches.

The only batter to reach base against him was Indians’ first baseman Adam Boeve, who singled sharply to right-center in the second (and was quickly erased in an inning-ending double play) and also drew a one-out walk — on four pitches — in the fifth.

Boeve then stole second and went to third on an errant throw by catcher George Kottaras. But Colon responded by striking out the next two batters — Neil Walker (looking) and Kevin Thompson, who waved feebly at a blazing, 95-mph fastball.

It was encouraging to see Colon, who has been bothered by arm problems the past two seasons, bringing the heat so consistently on a chilly night.

“I feel very good with the way I pitched,” he said. “I felt I had good control of the ball. That was a big thing tonight, particularly with the cold weather.”

Although he’s a native of the Dominican Republic, Colon said he adjusted long ago to pitching in less-than-balmy conditions.

“I pitched in Cleveland,” he said with a wry smile.

That was from 1997, when he was brought up in the latter part of the season, through the midpoint of the 2002 season, when he was traded to the Expos.

Colon was the Indians’ ace in those years, going 18-5 in 1999, 15-8 in 2000, and 14-12 in ’01. He was 10-4 for the Tribe in ’02 when he went to Montreal, where he also was 10-4, finishing that season 20-8 while becoming only the second pitcher in major-league history to win at least 10 games in each league in the same year.

The other was Hank Borowy, who in 1945 was 11-2 for the Cubs after starting that season 10-5 with the Yankees.

Colon’s best season was 2005, when he won the Cy Young award after going 21-8 for the Angels. That stellar season capped an eight-year stretch in which he won 135 games, second only to Randy Johnson (139) from 1998 through 2005.

Problems with his rotator cuff limited Colon to just one win (in six decisions) in 2006 and, after winning his first five decisions last season, he again developed arm woes, this time in his right elbow, and finished the year 6-8, with an earned-run average of 6.34.

A free agent heading into this year, he was signed by Boston to a one-year deal that, if last night’s powerful performance is any indication, could pay quick dividends.

“I felt,” he said, “like I was throwing consistently throughout the game. I didn’t have to rear back and try to throw any harder. I feel I have to pitch more innings to get my conditioning. But my arm feels good, and I feel healthy.”

jdonalds@projo.com