New York Mets: Players finally returning to team
Steven Matz
Wherever he’s been, he’s pitched well. The only problem with Steven Matz is that he has become accustomed to the injury bug.
Through 15 starts at Triple-A Las Vegas, Matz pitched to a 7-4 record with a 2.19 ERA. For his big-league career, Matz is currently 14-8 with a 3.09 ERA. But after his second career start, it was announced that Matz tore his lat muscle and missed about two months. Battling bone spurs for most of the 2016 campaign, he was finally shut down in August with left shoulder tightness. He hadn’t pitched until the nightcap of the day/night doubleheader yesterday against Atlanta because of elbow inflammation.
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In his first start of the season, he was not only masterful, but he did what he usually does: He pitched well.
"“This is what we thought we were going to get, guys we thought we were going to have. Unfortunately we haven’t and we have had to play without them, but we have a lot left and now we’ve just got to make sure we work very hard to make sure Steven Matz goes out there every five or six days and Yoenis Cespedes finishes the season healthy.” – Terry Collins, via NYPost.com"
Going seven strong against the Braves, he kept his pitch count under 100 and worked quickly. In something we haven’t seen for most of the season, a Mets starter actually went seven innings without blowing their arm out. With no durability seen this year, the Mets need their starters to get that certain swagger back and go deep into games. It won’t only give the offense more of a puncher’s chance, but not every game will be a slug fest. It also keeps their bullpen out of the game, which is always a good thing.