New York Mets: Matz dominates in return to the hill
New York Mets left-handed pitcher Steven Matz finally made his first start of the season on Saturday evening. He tossed seven strong innings as the Mets beat the Atlanta Braves 8-1 at SunTrust Park.
In his first start of the 2017 season, Steven Matz reminded everyone that he has the potential to be one of the top left-handed pitchers in the MLB.
Matz made his return to the Mets rotation on Saturday in Atlanta. He started the second game of a day and night doubleheader.
The Mets won the first game 6-1 behind 6.2 shutout innings from Robert Gsellman. In the first game, outfielder Yoenis Cespedes made his return to the lineup and hit a grand slam in the ninth inning. Cespedes had been sidelined since late April due to a hamstring injury.
After his team got a solid victory in the first game of the doubleheader, Matz took the hill for the nightcap.
His last start was on August 14 of last season. That night, he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning at Citi Field against the San Diego Padres. He missed the rest of the 2016 season because of a bone spur in his left elbow.
That was the last Mets fans saw of Matz until Saturday. Matz was originally on track to be in the
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Mets starting rotation on Opening Day this year. However, he was diagnosed with a strained flexor tendon in his left elbow just as the season began, forcing the Mets to place him on the disabled list.
Very early on in the game, it was apparent that Matz had great command. After surrendering a one-out single to Brandon Phillips in the bottom of the first inning, he got Nick Markakis to strike out swinging. The next batter was Matt Kemp, and Matz got him to fly out.
Matz was able to work quickly. In the second inning, he retired the side in order on a groundout and a couple of fly outs.
The following inning, he allowed a leadoff single to Johan Camargo. The next batter was the Braves pitcher Matt Wisler, who put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runner over to second base. Matz got Danny Santana to fly out to center field, and then struck out Brandon Phillips swinging.
In the fourth inning, Matz retired the Braves in order. The Mets gave him a lead in the top of the fifth inning after Jay Bruce hit a three-run home run.
That was all they ended up needing. In the bottom half of that inning, Matz was able to retire the side in order again.
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The first time Matz really ran into any trouble was in the sixth inning. Lane Adams led off with a pinch-hit single.
After that, Santana and Phillips both flied out, but then Matz walked Markakis. Thankfully, he was able to get Kemp to fly out to end the inning. At this point, the Mets had a 4-0 lead.
During the seventh inning, the Braves were finally able to scratch out a run against Matz. Dansby Swanson doubled with two outs and nobody on base.
The next batter was Camargo, who lined a single into right center field, scoring Swanson. Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen came out to the mound to talk to Matz after he gave up the run. Matz stayed in the game and got the final out out of the inning. That was the end of his night.
Braves push one across Matz in the 7th, his first run allowed. Warthen out for a chat.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) June 11, 2017
Overall, it was a very solid performance by Matz in his first start of the season.
He went seven innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits while only surrendering one walk. Even though he recorded just two strikeouts, Matz was extremely effective. He was able to get a lot of quick outs, which helped him go deep into the game.
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Matz, one run over seven innings in his return. A gift from the heavens for the Mets.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) June 11, 2017
The Mets went on to win the game 8-1. Saturday was a much-needed positive day for the team. They swept a doubleheader while getting their best hitter back, as well as one of their best starting pitchers.
Hopefully, the day was a sign of good things to come.