Let’s Go Matz! Put in the books. New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz has won his seventh straight and his 11th win with only 1 loss out his first 14 games of his Major League Baseball career.
Thanks to Matz’s stellar pitching and a leadoff homerun from David Wright, it was all the Mets needed to beat the Nationals 2-0 and take two out of three games in the series. Matz also retired 16 Nationals in a row before Clint Robinson’s two-out single in the eighth on his 100th pitch. After allowing seven runs in the first start this season, Matz has only allowed six since while compiling a 1.13 ERA.
The Mets have now won 5 out of their last 6 games and improve their record to 27-19. And who can forget about Mets closer Jeurys Familia, who pitched his way out of a slightly stressful ninth inning to save the game. With runners on the corners and two outs, Familia set a franchise record with his 32nd consecutive regular-season save conversion dating back to last season. This record passes Billy Wagner’s 31 straight from 2006-07. For those young ‘uns out there who may not know, Billy Wagner, nicknamed “Billy the Kid”, pitched for the New York Mets from 2006–2009 and was one of the only five Major League relief pitchers to accumulate a total of 400 or more saves in his baseball career.
David Wright, who played behind both Wagner and Familia in his career compared the two closers: “When we had Billy, you might as well have just made it an eight-inning game,” said third baseman David Wright, the only Met to play behind both closers in New York. “When he came in, he was getting the job done. And Jeurys is slowly getting there. Obviously he doesn’t have the track record that Billy’s got, but he’s certainly got the stuff. And that’s a tremendous compliment, because Billy arguably had some of the best stuff of anyone in baseball.”
In case you missed it, Lucas Duda was not at first base. He’s been placed on the 15-Day Disabled List, retroactive to May 21, with a stress fracture of the lower back. In his place, the Mets selected infielder/outfielder Ty Kelly from Las Vegas (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League.
A little background on Kelly. He’s 27 years old and was leading all of Minor League Baseball in batting average (.391) and on-base percentage (.478) and was fifth with a 1.026 OPS. Kelly scored 21 runs, collected 12 doubles, hit two home runs and drove in 15 runs in 35 games for the 51s. He has played 25 games in the outfield, seven games at third base, three games at first base and one at shortstop.
Kelly has never appeared in the Majors. He was signed as a Minor League free agent by the Mets on November 13, 2015. He was originally selected by Baltimore in the 13th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. Kelly has hit .280 (857-3,063) with a .382 on-base percentage, 144 doubles, 44 homers and 384 RBI in 855 career Minor League games.
The Mets are off tonight, but hopefully tomorrow night, May 27, they can keep the heat going against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets send Jacob de Grom to the mound against the Dodgers’ left-handed pitcher Alex Wood, who had 13-strikeouts in his last performance in San Diego.
De Grom is struggling a little bit with his ERA ballooning from 1.02 to 3.07 over his last four starts.
The Mets will celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the 1986 World Championship team during my own birthday weekend, May 27-29 vs. the Dodgers at Citi Field. This Friday, every fan will take home a ’86 replica jersey. There is a special pre-game ceremony honoring the ‘86 team on Saturday. Fans are asked to be in their seats by 6:15 p.m. The first 15,000 fans will receive a ‘86 replica World Series ring on Sunday. I remember that year very very well. Fun stuff!
Also MYSTERY BASEBALLS: New York Mets wives were mystery baseballs tonight from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on the field
level by the Amazin’ Memorabilia location (first base side) to raise money for the Mets Foundation. Fans select a paper bag which contains a mystery baseball signed by one of many Mets players including David Wright, Jacob deGrom and many more, including some of the 1986 Mets. Each ball will cost $75. The Mets Foundation funds and promotes a variety of educational, social and athletic programs and other charitable causes.
