DOUBLE-DIGIT TROUBLES
FINGER WOES SIDELINE THOR, MATZ BULLPEN IMPLODES AGAIN
ATLANTA — The Mets suddenly have a potential starting pitching shortage.
Noah Syndergaard is headed to the disabled list and Steven Matz could be joining him, as both pitchers deal with finger injuries. Only hours after the Mets announced Syndergaard’s imminent DL stint due to a strained ligament in his right index finger, the lefty Matz walked off the field at SunTrust Park in the fourth inning against the Braves on Tuesday with left middle finger discomfort.
The team said X-rays on Matz’s finger were negative, but he will receive an MRI exam Wednesday. The injury occurred while Matz was batting in the fourth inning: Matz tried to hold onto his bat as he swung and missed, but it sailed toward the on-deck circle. Matz then doubled against Anibal Sanchez and realized something was amiss.
“When I was standing on second base [the finger] was starting to throb a little bit out there,” Matz said after the Mets’ 7-6 loss. “I threw a couple of [warmup] pitches and felt it.”
Matz, who wore a splint after the game, said the discomfort is in the knuckle.
“I am concerned that it hurt and took me out of the game,” Matz said. “That is my main concern right now.”
Before the game, manager Mickey Callaway made it clear he expects Syndergaard’s absence to be brief. In the short-term, Jason Vargas is scheduled to pitch on short rest Wednesday in the series finale before Seth Lugo moves from the bullpen into a starting role the following day against the Cubs at Citi Field.
Syndergaard, who experienced the discomfort during a throwing session Monday — there was also bruising near his wrist, according to Callaway — is wearing a splint
on the finger and could resume throwing within a few days.
“The goal is to rest it a couple of days and get him in a bullpen [session] this weekend and after that he should be ready to go,” Callaway said.
Syndergaard last pitched on Friday in Milwaukee, where he allowed three runs over six innings and took a no-decision. The righthander is 4-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 11 starts this season in his comeback from a torn right lat that cost him most of 2017.
The latest hurts comes as the Mets are playing without Yoenis Cespedes, Todd Frazier, Wilmer Flores, Anthony Swarzak and AJ Ramos, among others.
From a rotation standpoint, Jacob deGrom was placed on the DL earlier this month with a hyperextended right elbow, but missed only one start. Vargas began the season on the DL before joining the rotation in late April.
Callaway used Lugo for a twoinning save in Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader against the Braves and watched the right-hander surrender a walk-off homer to Charlie Culberson in the ninth. On Tuesday, the manager revealed his intent in leaving Lugo in the game for two innings instead of using Jeurys Familia in the ninth: Callaway says he knew Lugo would be needed in the rotation because of Syndergaard’s situation and wanted him pitching multiple innings as a buildup of sorts.
“I called him in the office right after he blew the save and told him that was the reason we made him go two innings because he’s going to be starting on Thursday,” Callaway said.
Callaway’s plan for Thursday is to receive four innings and 65 pitches from Lugo, a former starter who has emerged as a valuable piece in the Mets’ bullpen. Callaway has resisted moving Lugo to the rotation because of concerns about filling his spot in the bullpen if he were moved. Now Callaway can only hope somebody will emerge in Lugo’s bullpen spot.
Vargas was rocked by the Brewers on Saturday, allowing five runs over three innings, but the expectation is the veteran lefty, who barely cracks 85 mph on the radar gun, won’t have a problem pitching on three days’ rest. The bigger concern is Vargas’ pitching: He is 1-3 with a 10.62 ERA in five starts for the Mets.
“He won’t be that limited,” Callaway said. “We will really just have to see how he does and gets through the game fatigue-wise.”
Vargas volunteered to pitch from the bullpen in Monday’s doubleheader if needed, but wasn’t used in the split. In the eighth inning of the nightcap, when it became clear he wouldn’t pitch, Vargas threw a short side session.