Mets left-hander Steven Matz has been named the National League Rookie of the Month for May. In five starts in May, Matz went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA and 0.76 WHIP while striking out 31 batters in 34 1/3 innings.
Entering his last start, Matz became the first Mets pitcher to win seven straight starts in ten years, last accomplished by Steve Trachsel.
Since 1900, Steven Matz is one of two left-handers to win 11 of their first 14 major league starts, the other being Kazuhisa Ishii for the Dodgers in 2002. Matz is also the first pitcher in franchise history to win 11 of his first 12 major league decisions.
On the season, Matz is 7-1 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 53 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings pitched. He is just the third Mets player to earn Rookie of the Month honors. Justin Turner took the award in May 2011, and Jacob deGrom took home the honor twice (July and September) in 2014.
Matz gave everyone a good laugh on Tuesday when he grabbed his bat and began walking to the on-deck circle in the bottom of the 5th inning. The problem was that Yoenis Cespedes was the cleanup hitter that day not him. He got the hint when Ces called out to Matz and started laughing at him as he strolled to the on-deck circle. Hilarious…
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Did you know that Steven Matz host members of the United States Military, NYPD, and FDNY during every Wednesday home game as part of his TRU32 Program? Each service member receives an additional ticket to bring a guest with them to Citi Field.
