Mets-Nationals Preview
Steven Matz dismissed any concern others harbored over his sore left elbow with another masterful effort that secured his place in New York Mets history. Now he'll try to show the Washington Nationals just how good he's become. Matz looks to win a seventh consecutive start when he faces the Nationals for the first time Wednesday in D.C. The left-hander beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 9, but he was forced to skip his next turn in the rotation because of the injury. An MRI revealed no damage, and Matz (6-1, 2.81 ERA) received the go-ahead to face Milwaukee on Friday. He allowed two runs in seven solid innings of a 3-2 victory, making only one mistake on Chris Carter's two-run homer in the first. Matz is 10-1 in 13-regular-season starts since coming up in 2015 and is the first Mets pitcher to win 10 of his first 11 decisions. ''I'm a rhythm pitcher, so I got into the rhythm,'' Matz said. ''We just kind of got into that groove, but I didn't really change anything. It's just one pitch (on the home run).'' Matz indeed controls the pace of games. He's one of the quickest-working pitchers in the majors in terms of seconds elapsed between deliveries, something that has helped him post a 1.35 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 40 innings during his six-start winning streak. "Obviously, Matz is throwing really well right now," outfielder Michael Conforto said. "He's an aggressive pitcher. That pace, it might give us momentum. And I think that's a very good thing for us." Matz has never faced the Nationals (28-18), who counter with Tanner Roark as he seeks to stay unbeaten against the Mets (26-19). Roark (3-3, 2.89) allowed seven runs in his previous outing against Miami, then made critical adjustments that helped him beat the Marlins 4-1 on Friday while pitching 6 2/3 effective innings. The right-hander felt that Miami, which has dealt him each of his losses this season, noticed that he was tipping his pitches during his delivery. Roark worked with the coaching staff to make the necessary changes. ''We looked at video,'' Roark said. ''I would do certain things on certain pitches, so I made an adjustment. The game within the game - it was a minor adjustment, and it worked.'' Roark is 5-0 with a 2.52 ERA in six career starts against the Mets, including giving up three hits over six scoreless innings and getting a no-decision the last time he faced them Oct. 4. He'll try to help the Nationals win for the sixth time in eight games after Tuesday's 7-4 victory. They hit a season-high five homers as Ben Revere, Daniel Murphy, Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos all connected. Bryce Harper was the only starter without a hit and is 4 for 30 over his last 10. The Mets had a four-game winning streak snapped as Matt Harvey struggled again. Asdrubal Cabrera homered and Eric Campbell hit a two-run shot in the ninth. Murphy, leading the majors with a .392 average, is 8 for 19 with two homers and six RBIs in five games this year against his former team. |