After toiling in the minors and independent leagues for over eight years, New York Mets right-hander, Chris Mazza, 29, made his MLB debut in Flushing on Saturday afternoon, turning in an outstanding effort.
After a one-hour-ten-minute rain delay, Mets starter Steven Matz‘ outing was over after two innings of work. With the Mets down 2-0 to Atlanta and confidence in their bullpen at an all-time low, manager Mickey Callaway turned to Mazza, turning 30 on October 17, for a few solid innings of long relief.
What the Mets got out of the Walnut Creek, California native was four innings of one-run ball, working around five hits to keep his team in the game against the first-place Braves.
Mazza allowed a run to cross the plate after just three pitches, courtesy of a single from Ronald Acuna Jr. followed by a double from Dansby Swanson, but that was the only run he’d allow.
The right-hander remained staunch over his next three frames, navigating around an Acuna double in the fifth and two baserunners in the sixth, closing out his first MLB outing with a timely, rollicking strikeout of Tyler Flowers to end the threat.
Mazza was in line for his first major-league win before Seth Lugo allowed back-to-back home runs to Nick Markakis and Austin Riley in the eighth. But despite that tough shake, the rookie righty surely came away from his initial MLB outing with a ton of confidence and a boatload of lifelong memories.
Mazza relied mostly on his sinker (26 pitches; averaged 91.6 MPH) and cutter (22 pitches; 91 MPH average), garnering more-than-respectable results (four swinging strikes and just 12 balls in play in total).
Over 12 starts (72.2 innings) between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse this season, Mazza’s walked 2.5 batters per nine innings. Over his four innings on Saturday, he walked none.
For a team whose bullpen’s walked 4.36 per nine this season (fourth-worst in the majors), that’s an encouraging development to keep an eye on.
If Mazza can provide consistent outs in a long-man/two-inning guy out of the Mets’ ‘pen, it could bode well for the eventual stability of this group. Goodness knows they need it.
After the game, Chris Mazza spoke to the Mets press corps (video via Anthony DiComo, MLB.com).
“To finally get here was amazing. It’s a dream come true and I’m never going to forget it [for] the rest of my life,” Mazza said, before talking about his day at the office.
“Just [worked] inside. Me and [Wilson Ramos] talked before we went out there; had a game plan, stuck to it, stuck to my strengths, and kept on pitching how I was pitching [in the minors] and didn’t try to change anything. It worked out.”
If Mazza can continue to translate his 2019 minor-league success (3.59 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) into effective outings for the big club, the 29-year-old rookie might stick around for a while.
