Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Matz All, Folks
For two starts, Steven Matz captured the attention of the baseball world.
Now, he’ll be out of the spotlight for at least three weeks.
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Matz was shut down Thursday with a partial tear of the lat muscle on his left side. The southpaw received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in the muscle and will be re-evaluated after three weeks.
The injury wouldn’t be alarming if there weren’t warning signs before Matz’ most recent start. The 24-year-old had lat soreness prior to Sunday’s start against the Dodgers, but Mets manager Terry Collins said Matz was cleared to pitch after making it through a throwing session before the start. Matz didn’t pitch as though he was hindered, limiting the Dodgers to two hits over six shutout innings.
Matz didn’t get the attention or fanfare that fellow Mets hurlers Matt Harvey or Noah Syndergaard got as a prospect, but he performed at a high level at every stop. Matz, a second-round pick of the Mets in 2009, appeared on prospect lists prior to this season after posting a 2.25 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 131/35 K/BB ratio over 140 innings in the minors last year.
And he delivered upon his major league arrival. Matz threw 7 2/3 innings in his debut on June 28, holding the Reds to two runs to earn his first major league victory. He followed that up last Sunday with his dominance of the Dodgers.
The silver lining for the Mets is the fact that the club was already utilizing a six-man rotation at the time of Matz’ injury. If they choose not to do anything, they still won’t need to look outside the organization or promote an inexperienced pitcher to get by. The upcoming All-Star break will also afford the Mets some time to get their affairs in order.
Even so, it’s more bad news for a team that has had plenty of it this year.
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On Holliday
One All-Star outfielder hit the shelf just days before the game, but another is on the verge of making it back in the nick of time.
Alex Gordon will be sidelined eight weeks with a strained groin, but Matt Holliday, who has been out since June 8 with a torn quad, could be activated from the disabled list Friday. Holliday, despite missing the past month, was recently voted as one of the National League’s three starting outfielders for the upcoming All-Star Game.
Asked Thursday about the potential for Holliday to be on the active roster for Friday’s game, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said it’s a possibility.
“I wouldn’t rule that out,” said Mozeliak. “Matty pushed it a little bit today and we’ll see how he responds (Friday).”
Even if he’s activated, Holliday likely won’t play the field, at least not right away. Holliday hurt the quad chasing a fly ball while the team was in Colorado last month. He’s been running on the field to test the quad, but the 35-year-old hasn’t played in any rehab games to this point.
His return would likely spell the exit for Tommy Pham, who turned some heads with a strong first few games in the majors last week. Pham was integral in two of the Cardinals’ wins against the Padres last weekend but is now hitting .160/.250/.360 through an admittedly small sampling of 25 at-bats.
Holliday, on the other hand, was enjoying a strong year at the plate prior to the injury. The left fielder owns a .303/.417/.421 line through 52 games, and the Cardinals, while getting by, have missed his bat in the middle of the order. Even if it’s in a pinch-hitting capacity, the club would certainly welcome his availability for the next three games against the division-rival Pirates.
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Shark Tank
Jeff Samardzija‘s struggles helped the White Sox dig a hole. His brilliance could — eventually — help them climb out of it.
The right-hander was terrific again Thursday, throwing a four-hit shutout as the White Sox beat the Blue Jays 2-0. Samardzija struck out five while walking one, needing 108 pitches to complete the feat.
The quality start was Samardzija’s eighth in his last 11 turns, improving him to 6-4 with a 4.02 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 102/23 K/BB ratio over 125 1/3 innings on the year. Samardzija hasn’t allowed more than four runs in a start since June 7.
That wasn’t always the case. Samardzija struggled in his first month with his new club, going 1-2 with a 4.78 ERA. He’s since found his groove, and the 30-year-old admitted Thursday that pressure played into his poor April.
“Early in the year, you press a lot,” Samardzija said. “You’ve got a lot to prove in a place you watched for so long, you’ve talked about it for so long.
“You just get excited, so sometimes you’ve got to pull back and go back to what works for you. For me, it’s pounding the zone with my sinker, slider for strikes and the splitter down in the zone.”
He’s doing it just in time to be an attractive player to contending teams in need of a starter. The White Sox, at 39-44, don’t have much utility for the impending free agent, but he could fetch a piece or pieces that will help the next contending White Sox club. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago said 15 scouts were in attendance Thursday for Samardzija’s gem.
With just a few weeks left before the trade deadline — and a few more starts with which to impress — Samardzija’s future will be known soon enough.
National League Quick Hits: There are plenty of good candidates to start the All-Star Game for the National League, but none — literally — have been as good as Zack Greinke. The right-hander lowered his league-best ERA to 1.39 Thursday with an eight-inning, one-hit shutout of the Phillies. Greinke owns a 35 2/3-inning scoreless streak heading into the break … Denard Span will likely head back to the disabled list with back issues. Span hasn’t appeared in a game since Monday, and he’s been bothered by back spasms since June 7 … Starling Marte is a candidate to be placed on the disabled list as he continues to deal with an oblique injury. Marte hasn’t played since Sunday … Kolten Wong entered Thursday’s game as a pinch-hitter and stayed in to play second base after leaving Tuesday’s game with a mild concussion. Wong was cleared for action and should be back in the starting lineup Friday … Jose Fernandez doesn’t appear to have missed a beat after Tommy John surgery, striking out nine Reds batters over seven scoreless innings in Thursday’s win. Fernandez is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 15/0 K/BB ratio over 13 innings since returning … the Marlins are 36-50 since trading Casey McGehee. Coincidence? Probably. But a reunion between the two is in the works, with the club reportedly set to sign McGehee on Friday. The third baseman hit .213/.275/.299 with the Giants before being released.
American League Quick Hits: It was odd when the Rangers designated Neftali Feliz for assignment, and it was equally as odd when he passed through waivers unclaimed. The right-hander will now test the open market, electing to become a free agent Thursday. Feliz should be able to find a major league job somewhere, perhaps just for a smaller price tag than the $4.125 million he’s making this season … Jesse Hahn was scratched from his scheduled Saturday start due to right elbow discomfort, and he’ll have an MRI on the elbow in Oakland. More should be known in a day or two … the Orioles, unable to trade Delmon Young, released him Thursday. He should find a new home fairly quickly, possibly in the National League … X-rays on Alexei Ramirez‘ left ankle came back negative after he fouled a ball off the ankle during Wednesday’s game. Ramirez hopes to be back in the White Sox’ lineup on Friday … with Michael Pineda dealing for the Yankees, the Mariners may finally get some payoff from their side of the trade after Jesus Montero was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday. Montero got the call after hitting .332/.370/.529 with 15 homers and 68 RBI for the Rainiers. A talented hitter, Montero will play primarily against lefties and could earn more at-bats, putting him on the radar in AL-only and deeper mixed leagues.
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