The New York Mets will likely be without their talented lefty in Thursday’s series finale with the Cardinals as Steven Matz was diagnosed with a strained shoulder.
In comes one rookie, out goes another.
According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, Mets pitcher Steven Matz will land on the DL with a tight shoulder — his DL stint his retroactive to Aug. 15.
The extent of Matz’s injury at this point is unknown.
Told Matz has tight shoulder, no structural damage, will be placed on DL retro to Aug. 15. #Mets
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) August 22, 2016
Ironically, his most recent start was the best of his career, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres on August 14.
That’s where Seth Lugo (0-2, 3.04 ERA) comes in, the newly minted spot-starter on duty for the Mets, taking the place of the wildly mediocre Logan Verrett, according to Mike Puma of the NY Post.
On Friday, Lugo’s name was called to start in place of a scratched Matz against the San Francisco Giants, and, simply put, he went above and beyond the call of duty.
Lugo tossed 6.2 innings of one-run baseball, needing only 69 pitches to do so before handing the ball to Jerry Blevins, who immediately allowed his two inherited runners to score.
The Mets currently sit 4.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second and final Wild Card spot and have the opportunity to make up serious ground when they visit them in St. Louis this week.
