Good Matz news: Feeling no pain
Steven Matz felt no discomfort in his left lat muscle in his first rehab start with Single-A St. Lucie Saturday night. The Mets’ rookie lefty tossed one inning and gave up one earned run on three hits with two strikeouts. He threw 23 pitches.
Sandy Alderson said Monday that Matz, out since July 10, would be limited to 25 pitches.
“I was really happy with the way things went,” Matz said. “I felt no discomfort. I probably need a couple of more outings.”
The team expects Matz back “on or around Sept. 1,” according to Alderson.
With the Mets surging and gaining ground atop the NL East, the lefty phenom is eager to return to Queens.
“Watching the team is exciting,” Matz said. “I really want to get back up there and help but I don’t want to rush anything.”
David Wright (spinal stenosis) and Kirk Nieuwenhuis also played in the 4-3 St. Lucie loss to Jupiter Saturday night.
Wright appeared in his fourth rehab game and played seven innings at third base; he went 0-for3 with a walk and run scored. Nieuwenhuis played a full nine innings in right field and went 0-for-4 with a walk and run scored.
Nieuwenhuis is rehabbing from a pinched nerve in his upper back. He was forced to the disabled list on Aug. 2 and he started his rehab on Aug. 13.
HARVEY DAY
The Pirates stand in the way of Matt Harvey looking to hurl his third consecutive scoreless start of the month. Pittsburgh handed Harvey his second loss of the season on May 23 after it shelled him for seven earned runs and bounced him after only four innings — his shortest outing of the season.
Terry Collins said that Harvey was in a bit of a funk when he made his first start against the Pirates, but with the situation the team is in currently and with the groove Harvey has been in, he’s not worried about the Dark Knight besting his latest villain.
“Well, he’s pitching pretty good right now,” Collins said before Saturday’s game. “I expect him to pitch much, much better.”
Collins said Harvey feeds off big games and tough matchups, and this is one of them. Pittsburgh (68-46) holds the second best record in the National League and could possibly meet the Mets in October.
“We’re in a different situation now where these games become very, very big,” Collins added. “(Harvey) loves to pitch those bright-light games and that’s going to be one of them.”
DUDA EASES BACK IN
Lucas Duda said before Saturday’s game that he will be healthy and ready to play when the Mets go to Baltimore to start a twogame series on Tuesday.
The slugging first baseman was held out of the lineup for the fifth straight game on Saturday for lower back stiffness. “It should be a couple of days and I’ll play in Baltimore,” Duda said before Saturday’s game. “That’d be the best plan.”
He took batting practice Saturday and then drew a walk as a pinch-hitter in the 12th inning of Saturday night’s 5-3 loss to the Pirates.
Duda said he’s taking it dayto-day, trying to make sure he doesn’t do anything to aggravate his lower back.
“It is getting better, so I’ll take it day by day and work through it,” Duda said. “Staying off the disabled list, that’s the main concern.”
The Mets plan to tread carefully with this speed bump to avoid any setbacks for the stretch run. The team can’t afford to lose his hot bat. After closing out July on a high note, Duda has been raking through August, hitting .324 (11-for-34) with three home runs and 10 RBI in nine games.