Steven Matz looks sharp in his second start
Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz throws against the Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on Saturday. Credit: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
WASHINGTON — Steven Matz’s first inning Saturday could have gotten ugly fast: runner on second, nobody out and the toughest part of the Nationals’ order due up: Anthony Rendon, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman.
Instead, Rendon struck out looking, Harper struck out swinging and Zimmerman struck out swinging. Matz escaped en route to striking out five consecutive batters during a five-inning stint in which he allowed one unearned run in the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Nationals.
“The main thing is trust what I have out there and go out and attack them,” Matz said. “Don’t try to pitch around contact. Just go right after them. That was my mentality the whole game and that’s the way I have to be.”
That sentiment encapsulates Matz’s past month-plus and perhaps longer. He started off poorly in spring training, straightened himself out, had a rocky first game of the season and this time seemed to be straightened out again.
The difference, Matz and manager Mickey Callaway said, was the same variables they have cited for weeks: Matz’s confidence in himself and conviction in his pitches.
Matz said that in his previous outing, pitching coach Dave Eiland spotted a minor physical issue that was reminiscent of his early spring training outings. They fixed it, and he was better.
“It was a minor adjustment of something I was doing in spring training as well early on, not having that last bit of conviction with my pitch, mentally and physically,” Matz said. “Just finishing, really.”
Said Callaway: “There was a lot more confidence. Total conviction in most of his pitches. You could see it in the way he released the ball. So he did a great job, making that adjustment.”
Matz allowed three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. Centerfielder Juan Lagares kept another run off his ledger when he threw out Brian Goodwin at home in the second inning.
Matz cited fastball command — “That’s where it starts for me,” he said — as another reason for the step forward, though he leaned heavily on his curveball. About one-third of his pitches were curves, more than double his rate from his previous game.
He also benefited from plate umpire Marty Foster’s wide strike zone. After two strikeouts looking in three innings, Rendon was displeased enough that he tossed his bat and was ejected. Washington manager Dave Martinez also was ejected.
“I don’t look at them getting frustrated,” Matz said. “I look at them not hitting it or taking it. I’m going to keep attacking that until they show me something.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
