It's a Matz, Mets world

By Nathan Mayberg
FLUSHING — The universe seemed to be imploding for the Mets last week.

They lost seven games in a row.

They were not hitting.
They lost their position on top of the National League East to their rivals, the Washington Nationals.

They fell under .500.
But the Mets brass got decisive.

They announced that their blazing lefty, Steve Matz, would be called up from the minors.

They went to a six-man rotation.

The misplaced Wilmer Flores would go back to second base and Ruben Tejada would field shortstop.

The results?
The Mets won four games in a row since and Matz, one of their most heralded pitching prospects in years, pitched a gem in his debut on Sunday with his arm and provided more offense with his bat in a game than any hitter on the team had done in two months.

He also became the first pitcher in history to have four RBI's in his debut.

The four runs he drove in were the most runs the Mets had even scored in a game as a team in eight games.

Make no mistake about it. Matz will be crucial to the Mets future and chances at a future title based on his left arm, which dialed it up to 97 miles per hour on Sunday and made some of the best hitters in the game look foolish on his wicked curve ball and changeup.

Joey Votto, owner of four on-base percentage titles, was called out on strikes against Matz.

Todd Frazier, second in the league in home runs, took Matz deep but also struck out.

Matz's Herculean gem began with the 24-year-old doing his best Randy Johnson vs. John Kruk All Star Game impersonation by sending his first pitch to Brandon Phillips nearly into the stands had there not been a net there. Phillips took Matz deep on the fifth pitch.

Give Matz credit. He recovered from giving up a home run to the first batter he ever faced in a Major League Baseball game and put on a clinic the rest of the way.

In seven and two-thirds innings, he allowed five hits and three walks, with just two runs.

Maybe it was his Long Island swagger coming through to give him that edge he needed to overcome the initial adversity.

Matz used those steely nerves to gear down in the batter's box and give the Mets three big hits, including two double-RBI swings to secure the win.

In the seventh inning, he broke up a double play by sliding into the legs of Phillips.

Manager Terry Collins surprised most fans by bringing Matz back out for the eighth inning after he had already reached the magical 100 pitch mark.

Matz had a four-run lead. The Mets have been especially careful with all of their young pitchers this year, limiting most of their games to under 100 pitches.

They had just gone to a six-man rotation to relieve them of stressful innings to head off potential injury problems.

After all, this is a team with four of their best starting pitchers having undergone Tommy John Surgery (including Matz).

Another, Noah Syndergaard, has had shoulder problems in the past.

But the East Sautucket product who grew up a Mets fan and had 130 friends and family there to see him, went back out for the eighth inning and got two outs before Votto drew a walk that could have been a strikeout on the 110th pitch.

Matz was visibly upset with himself for not getting out Votto and reluctantly gave the ball to Collins who came out to get it.

The pitcher showed an inner and outer fire which will serve him well and embrace him with hot boiled Mets fans.

If the Mets hadn't used six pitchers in the first part of the doubleheader, which was a completion of a suspended Matt Harvey gem in the rain from the night before, Collins wouldn't have sent Matz out for the eighth.

Matz is the icing on the phenomenal young pitching the Mets have carved up since Omar Minaya drafted both he, Jacob DeGrom and Matt Harvey. With the trades by Sandy Alderson for Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard, they are sitting on of the best young pitching staffs since they threw out Seaver, Ryan and Koosman.

They could potentially be sitting on one of the all-time great rotations in history.

If they could just play Matz and DeGrom in the infield on their off days, their lineup would be golden.

Flores had two hiccups at second base on Sunday and continues to look shaky defensively. Rumors are spreading that the Mets could trade their veteran lefty John Niese for a new bat.

Center fielder Juana Lagares is playing through injury. Daniel Murphy looked exceptionally sharp in a return to third base this week, taking over from captain David Wright who is shelved indefinitely with a back injury.

Stud catcher Travis D'Arnaud is also out with injury.

Despite all of the problems, the arrival of Matz has set into motion Mets mania.