WASHINGTON -- Noah Syndergaard has the 6-foot-6 frame and Thor alter ego. Bartolo Colon has the entertaining at-bats. Jacob deGrom has the mane. Matt Harvey, at least these days, has the drama.
Steven Matz? He is quietly performing the best of any member of the New York Mets' rotation -- better even than Syndergaard.
“Somehow, being in New York this year, he’s kind of gone a little bit under the radar with some of the other guys that we have,” captain David Wright said after Matz tossed eight scoreless innings Wednesday in a 2-0 rubber-game win over the Washington Nationals. “That was about as dominant of a performance as I’ve seen this year. That’s a very, very good lineup. That’s a very good team. To come in here on the road and pitch the way he pitched and just dominate a very, very good lineup, that’s impressive. And we needed it.”
Since allowing seven runs in 1 2/3 innings in his season debut, Matz is 7-0 with a 1.13 ERA in seven starts. He is one of the clear-cut favorites for National League Rookie of the Year, along with a trio of shortstops -- Aldemys Diaz of the St. Louis Cardinals, Trevor Story of the Colorado Rockies and Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“He’s going to get plenty of publicity,” Mets manager Terry Collins said of Matz. “Don’t be fooled. He’s making a name for himself in this league, and it’s going to get around fast.”
Matz had retired 16 straight batters before Clint Robinson delivered a two-out single in the eighth. With the Mets leading 2-0, Collins had lefty specialist Jerry Blevins ready for pinch hitter Bryce Harper. But Collins wanted to test Matz’s mettle and stuck with his young southpaw.
Matz issued two straight balls to Harper, which prompted pitching coach Dan Warthen to tell Collins in the dugout: “Well, we’ll find out what he’s made of right here.”
After a called strike, Harper grounded out on the 2-1 offering as Matz completed his outing with a huge out. Matz allowed four hits and a walk while striking out seven in eight innings.
“It definitely means something,” Matz said of remaining in the game to face Harper. “As a competitor, you don’t want to come out in that situation. And for your manager to have faith in you to leave you out to face arguably the greatest hitter in the game right now, it’s pretty awesome.”
Said Collins: “When you have a young player, there are certain situations where you’ve got to challenge them. That was one of them for me. I said, ‘Hey, look, if he’s going to be a big winner for us, if he’s going to pitch in big games, he’s got to learn how to get those guys out in tight situations.’”
Matz has been a big winner so far for the Mets. He is now 11-1 in the regular season in his career. That matches the most wins through 14 career appearances in the majors since 1913. Matz joins Masahiro Tanaka (2014), Kazuhisa Ishii (2002), Cal Eldred (1991-92), Dave Ferriss (1945) and Tiny Bonham (1940-41) in that 11-win group.
Matz joined Clayton Kershaw and Jake Arrieta as the only pitchers with four scoreless starts of at least six innings this season.
In Mets history, there is only one pitcher besides Matz who has allowed two earned runs or fewer while winning seven straight starts. He’s known as “The Franchise:" Tom Seaver.
“Now it’s a matter of making sure his health stays to the point where he can be consistent going to the mound because I think he’s got a chance to win a lot of games,” Collins said.
Sure enough, two starts into his major league career last season, Matz went on the disabled list with a lat strain and missed two months. This season, he experienced left forearm soreness. But he has not missed a beat since skipping a start May 14 in Colorado.
“I wasn’t that nervous,” Matz said about the latest injury scare. “Like I said last time, I got everything checked out, and everything came back clear. It’s a long season. You’re going to go through some nicks and nacks.”
After Wright suggested postgame that Matz might be under the radar because of the other rotation members, it was suggested to the captain that perhaps if Matz had Syndergaard’s imposing physical presence things might be different.
“Physical stature? He’s put together pretty well,” Wright playfully countered about Matz.
But Matz doesn't have the Thor-like personality that has people captivated, Wright was told.
“He’s got a good personality,” Wright replied, trying to be difficult. “What are you trying to say about the guy? He’s put together well, and he’s got a very good personality. I don’t know why you’re bashing him like this, but I’ll stick up for him.”
