New York Mets rookie lefty, Steven Matz pitched a quality start in Saturday’s crushing 4-3 defeat to the Atlanta Braves. The possible bigger issue on hand though is the health of his elbow.
In six innings pitched yesterday, Matz allowed just two runs on four hits. He walked two batters, one intentionally while striking out seven before exiting after throwing 99 pitches on the night. The reason for the exit was due to his elbow tightening up on him.
“Just a little tender. Maybe fatigued. It’s just stuff you go through during the season,” Matz said. (NY Post)
Matz, 25, took a no-decision on the night, his record standing pat at 7-3, he has now gone four straight starts without a win. His ERA rose just a bit to 2.74 while his WHIP dipped a bit to 1.13. The command on his fastball looked great last night, and Manager Terry Collins is not too concerned of the issues with Steven’s elbow due to this. Collins made it seem that taking his southpaw out was nothing more than precautionary.
“He got a little stiff, his elbow got a little tight in the sixth,” Collins said. “I thought he threw enough pitches. He threw the ball fine. He said it was starting to get tight so we took him out.”
After the game though Matz made it sound as though this has been an ongoing issue for himself.
“It’s been off and on. During the season, you go through things. Once you get fatigued, things show up a little more. It’s not a concern for me really.”
Hearing that it has been off an on seems to be a concerning statement. Matz, who has had trouble staying healthy in his career has been a true force in the rotation since joining it. Hopefully for Matz and the Mets this is nothing but a little tightness and there is not a bigger underlying issue.
