Recap:
Port St. Lucie, FL -- The New York Mets dropped their fourth
game in their last five in Spring Training with a 7-3 loss to the Washington
Nationals at First Data Field in Port St. Lucie on Sunday. However the biggest
story of the day had to be another tough day at the office for left-hander
Steven Matz.
Matz couldn’t get out of the first inning as he gave up five
runs on five hits over two-thirds of an inning, with the biggest hit of the day
against Matz coming on a two-run single by 24-year old catcher Pedro Severino.
The biggest problem for Matz this spring has been control
and consistency. He walked two batters on Sunday, and has walked four and
struck out only one in 1-2/3 innings of work.
Considering Matz is coming off an injury plagued season in 2017
that saw him pitch to a career high 6.08 ERA, some are going to point to these
two starts as a major red flag – perhaps opening the door for a wider
competition for a rotation spot that could include the likes of Robert Gsellman
and Seth Lugo.
So far this spring, Lugo has pitched well in two appearances
and one start; he owns a 1.80 ERA over five innings. Gsellman looked real
strong in his first start against the Marlins on February 25, blowing away
hitters with his changeup and fastball, but, he struggled a couple days ago
against the Astros, allowing three runs in his third and final inning of work
against the World Champions.
Right now it is all about confidence for Matz, and he is
clearly searching at this point.
Meanwhile, the Mets did have a couple of good moments in
their loss to Washington. Jay Bruce hit his first home run of the spring in the
bottom of the first inning, and Todd Fraizer connected on his first Met home
run in the bottom of the fourth inning.
For Bruce he has really hit the ball well this spring
considering he came into camp bothered by plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Since coming off the injury, Bruce has three hits in eight at bats, a .375
batting average, with two extra base hits. Clearly the foot issue is well behind
Bruce at the moment.
From Port St. Lucie, Florida, I’m Michael Cohen
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