Giving up ten runs in the first inning is not a recipe for success. For New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz, his part in that meltdown was historic.
Tuesday night’s game could not have gotten off to a worse start for the New York Mets. The Philadelphia Phillies scored ten runs in the bottom of the first inning, aided by a pair of errors by Amed Rosario. Two two run doubles from J.T. Realmuto, and home runs from Scott Kingery and Makiel Franco essentially put the game out of reach before the first inning was over.
Yet, history was made on Tuesday night. Steven Matz started the game, allowed eight runs, but did not record an out. This marked the sixth time since 1893 that this has happened.
Steven Matz had himself a bad day.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 17, 2019
He became just the 6th starting pitcher since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893 to allow 8 runs without recording an out.
Only 3 franchises have had this occur: the Mets, Athletics, and Reds. They've each had it happen twice. pic.twitter.com/lQ6y8sk787
Amazingly, all six instances involved just three teams – the Mets, the A’s, and the Reds. And, all of those teams have had that fate befall them twice. For the Reds, both of those outings came courtesy of Paul Wilson, who himself had been a former Mets prospect that never panned out.
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Prior to this outing, Matz had been in the midst of an excellent start to the season. In his 16.1 innings, he had allowed just five runs, three earned, on 12 hits and five walks while striking out 19 batters. He appeared to be taking that expected step forward, emerging as the top of the rotation arm he was projected to be.
While it is still early in the season, the Mets need to hope that this is rock bottom. They have lost three of their past four games, allowing a total of 38 runs in those contests. Even Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom have looked vulnerable in the early going, two starters that the Mets cannot afford to have struggle.
Fortunately for New York, it is still early in the season. This four game stretch could prove to be an anomoly, something that will be forgotten about come September. Matz implosion to begin the game on Tuesday could simply prove to be a footnote to the season. However, as the Mets are looking to contend in a difficult division, these games, especially against divisional opponents, could prove doubly painful.
Steven Matz had a historically awful start for the New York Mets. The hope is that this is rock bottom for the team this season.