Mets pitching prospect Steven Matz was dominant again on Friday night, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Reno Aces.
Nick Evans eventually broke up the no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh when he slapped a ground ball through the infield between shortstop and third for Reno’s first hit.
Matz ended the night surrendering just two hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out five batters. He lowered his ERA to 2.01 for the season, tops among Las Vegas starting pitchers, and now has a 1.12 WHIP with 19 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched.
Matz also helped his own cause going 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored as Las Vegas routed Reno in a 12-0 blowout.
The hard-throwing southpaw had a solid showing in big league camp for the Mets, posting a 2.02 ERA over 8.2 innings in Grapefruit League play.
When asked if Matz could pitch in the majors right now, the manager Terry Collins responded, “I don’t see why not.”
“He’s going to be very good. He’s got all it takes. It’s now just a matter of going out there with confidence and command. He’s going to be really good,” Collins said.
Matz was recently ranked No. 2 in our MMO Top 25 Prospects. He had a spectacular 2014 season that saw him post a 2.28 ERA and 1.17 WHIP after a promotion to Double-A Binghamton, and really shined in the spotlight when he hurled 7.1 innings of no-hit ball in game three of the Eastern League Championship series.
