Mets not ready to announce pitchers beyond Jacob deGrom starting Wednesday's game
Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz delivers against the Nationals during the first inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Aug. 10. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets are going to need six starting pitchers between Thursday and Sunday. The only thing that’s certain is that Jacob deGrom will not be one of them.
With seven-inning doubleheaders scheduled against the Yankees on Friday and Sunday, Mets manager Luis Rojas was not ready to name any upcoming starters before deGrom faced the Marlins on Wednesday night.
Rojas did say the Mets were going to try to stay away from using Steven Matz and Robert Gsellman out of the bullpen on Wednesday. So they could start two of the games.
Rick Porcello and Seth Lugo both started in Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Marlins, so both would be on four-days rest and would be ready to start Sunday’s games.
That still leaves two more. Rojas mentioned that Michael Wacha and David Peterson, who are both on the injured list with shoulder ailments, could be ready in time to pitch in those games.
If not, the Mets also have Walker Lockett and Corey Oswalt stretched out and on the roster.
The Mets chose not to pitch DeGrom on Tuesday, which means his next start after Wednesday can’t come until next Tuesday at Baltimore. The Mets are off Monday.
You’d think the Mets would want to maximize deGrom’s starts during a 60-game season. But Rojas said they didn’t pitch the two-time defending NL Cy Young award winner on Tuesday because he wasn’t on his normal routine and wasn’t able to throw a bullpen session during the layoff.
The start times for the games at Yankee Stadium were announced: Friday, the doubleheader will start at 4:05 p.m. On Saturday, the single game will begin at 1:05. On Sunday, the doubleheader will begin at 1:05 p.m.
The Mets will bat last in the second games of both doubleheaders since they are makeups of the games that were postponed at Citi Field last weekend. The other postponed game will be made up on Sept. 3 at Citi Field, with the start time yet to be announced.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
