Making his major league debut, Steven Matz was spectacular. He fired 7.2 solid innings while allowing just two runs on two solo home runs.
With his explosive mid 90’s fastball and devastating curve, Matz’s stuff was electrifying. He kept the Reds’ lineup off-balance all day, and he was able to remain poised and focused after giving up a lead-off home run in the first inning to Brandon Phillips.
He became the first Met to throw 7.2 innings and allow five or fewer hits in his debut since Randy Tate allowed five hits in 8.0 innings in his first career game on April 14, 1975 at Philadelphia.
Matz became the first National League pitcher to have such a debut since the Cubs’ Ryan O’Malley allowed five hits in 8.0 innings in his first career game on August 16, 2006 at Houston.
“He was challenging. He had a good fastball and a good curveball,” said Joey Votto, who entered with a .288/.394/.511 overall slash line and an .851 OPS against lefties but went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and a walk against Matz.” (Newsday, Sal Cacciatore)
“He’s got a lot of energy. I’d be hyped up too in New York,” said Todd Frazier, a New Jersey product who homered and went 1-for-3 against Matz. “You really just have to tip your cap to him.”
“The more he pitches, the more he works with his catchers, he’s going to be a really good pitcher. And if he keeps hitting the ball like that, he’ll be in the Hall of Fame. We’ll see what happens.”
Not only was Matz phenomenal on the mound, but he also had a historic day at the plate.
He is the 11th player and the first pitcher in the last century to record at least three hits and four RBI in his major league debut. His four RBI is a franchise record for any Met player’s major league debut.
“It’s not a lot of fun on this end to be talking about the great game that another player had on a different team,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “But he did have a great day. Certainly that would be the debut anybody would want.”
It’s been a long journey to the majors for Matz, who was drafted in 2009 and battled injuries early in his career that caused him to miss three years.
However, he’s certainly been worth the wait as he clearly has the talent to be a top pitcher in the league for years to come. And after a phenomenal debut, maybe Frank Viola wasn’t so off base after all, when he likened Matz to Madison Bumgarner.
