Mets' Luis Rojas says David Peterson and Jacob deGrom will make next starts, but won't commit to starting Steven Matz
Mets manager Luis Rojas walks to the dugout tossing a baseball during a game against the Nationals at Citi Field on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets’ troubled starting rotation actually got some pieces of good news on Monday.
The shoulder discomfort that rookie David Peterson felt after coming out of last Thursday’s win over the Nationals will not prevent him from starting Tuesday in Miami. And Jacob deGrom will not miss another start because of neck stiffness that prevented him from taking the mound Friday; he will face the Marlins on Wednesday.
All the news, however, was not good.
Manager Luis Rojas said the Mets will not commit to starting Steven Matz in his scheduled slot on Thursday in the series finale against Miami. Matz is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in five starts and in his last three has pitched 11 2/3 innings to a 14.66 ERA.
“Right now we're not committing either way to what's going to happen,” Rojas said of the Ward Melville High product. “We're just working with him specifically on some of the things that have been there for him and specific situations [that went badly]. He has thrown three good innings and one bad one. We’re targeting where are the mistakes, where are the errors?”
Rojas pointed to a combination of poor pitch sequencing and poor pitch executing in high leverage situations as among the lefthander’s issues. Matz will have to show improvement in his bullpen session to earn the nod. He added Matz is healthy and cited his good fastball velocity as evidence.
DeGrom threw a side session on Monday and felt no discomfort. Rojas said “after seeing that side session, all he needs to do is show up.”
Peterson went through his standard between-starts routine and bullpen session and was not limited. Peterson had said last Thursday he was not worried about the discomfort and it appears there was no reason to be.
Back in the middle
The Mets middle infield Monday was Robinson Cano at second base and Amed Rosario at shortstop – the defensive alignment they’d planned to use for this season. Andres Gimenez had started seven of the previous eight games and Luis Guillorme had started six in a row; and each looked good on offense and in the field.
Rosario, who took a .197 batting average into Monday’s game, started only two of the past six games and Rojas said “we need to get Rosie going . . . and back where we need him to be.” He suggested that the plate discipline that marked Rosario hitting .287 last season has not been there this year.
Cano last started at second base on Aug 3, the game in whichhe suffered a groin strain that sidelined him for 10 days. He batted .308 with a homer and two RBIs in three games at DH heading into Monday.
McNeil in lineup
Jeff McNeil returned to the starting lineup, as the DH, for the first time since he injured his knee colliding with the wall on Aug. 13. He made a pinch hitting appearance Sunday . . . Catcher Renee Rivera was transferred to the 45-day injured list and will have surgery Wednesday to remove a bone spur from his left elbow . . . Infielder Ronny Mauricio was added to the 60-man player pool.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
