MATZ NOT GOOD NEWS
STIFF BACK WILL DELAY STEVEN’S NEXT START
PHILADELPHIA — Steven Matz awoke with a sore back Tuesday, but the Mets insist they aren’t losing sleep over the matter.
After incurring stiffness in the right side of his back, the rookie will receive an extra day of rest and pitch Thursday against the Phillies. Logan Verrett will be moved up a day to pitch Wednesday.
Matz missed six weeks after tearing a lat muscle earlier this season, but the injury occurred on the left side of his back.
“There’s history there, that’s why I don’t like [Matz] out of the bullpen,” manager Terry Collins said after the Mets lost 43 to the Phillies on Tuesday.
Matz said he dealt with a similar back issue a few years ago, but nothing recently.
“It’s one of those things where you wake up and I just slept wrong or something, so I’m just being precautionary about it,” Matz said.
Even so, the Mets are not prepared to officially name Matz as the fourth starter for their NLDS rotation. Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey can expect to start, according to Collins, but the announcement on the final spot may wait until the weekend.
All indications are Matz, if healthy, will get the nod over Bartolo Colon, who can shift more easily to the bullpen.
“I think we’re fairly certain on three [starters] and we’ll figure out the fourth as we get closer to the playoffs,” general manager Sandy Alderson said. “Anything we decide now is tentative, anyway, based on what happens and this is a good example of how something can happen. But we don’t expect this to have an impact on Matz beyond the next two or three days.”
Alderson strongly hinted that Matt Harvey is headed toward a Game 3 appearance, as the Mets try to ensure the righthander is limited to one start in the NLDS because of his workload in his first season following Tommy John surgery. But once the game starts, Harvey would not face innings or pitchcount limits.
“Game 3 is an important game, it doesn’t matter whether you’re up 20 or down 02 or 11, it’s a big game,” Alderson said. “But we certainly have to recognize where he is over the course of the season and basically he is right where we hoped it would be, so we’re pleased about that, but obviously we’ll take into account his situation as we talk about the rotation.”
Collins, focused on a possible World Series run, added: “We can’t pitch [Harvey] six times.”
Harvey, who pitched 6 ²/₃ innings on Saturday in the NL Eastclincher against the Reds, is expected to throw 7580 pitches on Saturday against the Nationals in a final tuneup before the postseason. The righthander has logged 183 ¹/₃ innings this season.
Colon has postseason experience with the Indians, Angels and Athletics, but that won’t factor into any rotation decisions, according to Alderson. None of the other Mets starters have pitched in the postseason.
“What we have is what we have,” Alderson said. “Would you like to have playoff experience? Sure, that would be the preference. But would you rather have four horses that throw 95, 96, 98 [mph]? That would be nice, too. Nothing is ever perfect, but I think we have a lot of confidence in our young guys.”