New York Mets phenom lefty Steven Matz apparently slept on his wrong side and woke up with such a sore arm he’ll have to be scratched.
By David Hong
New York Mets rookie starter Steven Matz had his start Wednesday scratched because he felt discomfort in his back from sleeping on a couch.
His start was changed to Thursday on the next day. But today, according to various reports, Matz had Thursday’s start scratched as well because he continued to experience back stiffness, via Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.
Whether Matz will make any one of the last three games vs the Nationals is anyone’s guess.
Matz is still most likely scheduled to be the Mets fourth starter in the playoffs, but if his back continues to stiffen or it doesn’t improve Terry Collins might have tinker with his starting rotation and put either Jon Niese or Bartolo Colon as the fourth starter.
Collins refused the put Matz in the bullpen because of his injury history which could affect putting him more on a everyday basis in the pen. Matz missed two months during the season because of a partially torn lat muscle.
He has put together a nice rookie season, going 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA. He’s 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA since coming back from the DL.
Matz is also one of the Mets bright pitching futures, going along with Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard. Like the other 3, Matz is also young (24 years old) who throws a fastball in the mid to upper 90s.
Losing Matz could be a big blow for the Mets World Series hopes as he deepens the rotation and gives Collins more options in the Mets rotation. Matz presence would definitely make the Mets a much more dangerous team in the playoffs as opponents would have to deal with another strong, young, hard throwing pitcher to go along with their top 3.
The Mets hope that his back is not too serious but just minor and that Matz will be at least good to go come playoff time.
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