New York Mets lefty Steven Matz had a rough first inning on Wednesday when he allowed two runs on 33 pitches to the Miami Marlins. He bounced back though to not give up a run over the next 3.1 innings and strike out five overall in the appearance.

The good ending to his outing could’ve pushed him closer to the battle for the Mets’ fifth starter spot after his main competition Zack Wheeler struggled his last time out.

Noah Syndergaard has been announced as the Opening Day starter, Jacob deGrom is going the second game while Matt Harvey and Jason Vargas have seemingly locked up two more spots in the rotation. Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have recently been used as relievers in short outings making it seem like they’re out of the running for the fifth spot.

We now have Matz vs Wheeler with the Mets only two weeks away from Opening Day. “It’s in the back of my mind, but I just have to keep working,” Matz told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “Even if I had a guaranteed spot in the rotation, it wouldn’t change how I work. I’m just trying to be the best pitcher I can, and if it’s good enough to help the team win, then that’s great.”

The overall numbers on Matz this spring are ugly, 10.80 ERA and 2.20 WHIP though most of that came in his first two starts when he allowed ten earned runs in 1.2 innings. Over his last two starts, Matz has given up only two runs on six hits, four walks and seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

Wheeler on the other hand has a 6.75 ERA and 2.13 WHIP this spring in eight innings. Over that span he has allowed a whopping 15 hits, walked only two and struck out 11. Though in his last start he allowed five runs in three innings and needed 65 pitches to get those nine outs. High pitch counts continue to something that plagues the talented Wheeler.

Both Wheeler and Matz are hoping to rebound after abysmal 2017 seasons in which they posted an earned run average of 5.21 and 6.08 respectively.

Should note that although it seems the Mets are leaning towards Wheeler or Matz that both Lugo and Gsellman have pitched better this spring and certainly going to get starts at some point in 2018 at the major league level. Lugo has a 1.86 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 9.2 spring inning while 3.60 ERA and 1.10 WHIP during Grapefruit League play.

Mets manager Mickey Callaway isn’t sure who the fifth starter is yet but sees it as something that can change, “It’s going to be a fluid situation anyway once you get into the season. We’re not going to use five starters all year, so it really doesn’t matter who breaks camp. In my experience, the guy that breaks camp usually doesn’t stay in the big leagues as long as the guy who doesn’t.”