PHOENIX — Steven Matz might have opened the season as the biggest question mark among the Mets’ big four starting pitchers, but he’s gotten to June as the most consistent.
“I am very proud of what he’s done and how far he’s come,” pitching coach Dave Eiland said Saturday before the Mets’ crushing 6-5 loss to the Diamondbacks in 11 innings. “And like I have told him, he is just now scratching the surface. This isn’t the end, this is just the beginning.”
The left-hander will take a 4-3 record with a 3.55 ERA and 1.34 WHIP into Sunday’s start against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. In four of his past six starts, Matz has pitched at least six innings and allowed two runs or fewer.
That included his last start, when he got the Mets their only victory in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium by allowing two runs over six innings against one of baseball’s premier lineups.
As Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler have all regressed from last season, Matz is a better version of the pitcher who went 5-11 with a 3.97 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.
“He made some significant physical adjustments with his delivery and position on the rubber and stuff like that,” Eiland said. “But one of the biggest things he’s done is he’s really made some mental adjustments, he finally figured some things out on the mental side.”
It was early last season that Eiland first began talking to Matz about staying focused and letting go of the past following a rough inning or call that didn’t go his way. Matz began to change his mental approach, but still struggled in the second half, posting a 4.97 ERA after the All-Star break as he lacked conviction in his pitches, according to Eiland.
Now Eiland sees a confident pitcher who won’t allow the situation dictate the results.
“His stuff has changed a little bit because of some of the mechanical things he’s done, but that doesn’t work unless your mind is right, and I say it all the time: If your mind isn’t right, your body isn’t going to be right,” Eiland said. “If your mind is right your body will follow. The mental side of the game he’s figured out and that makes the physical adjustments he’s made easier and fall into place better.”
It also helps that after missing significant time with injuries in each of his first three seasons, Matz has become a rock in the rotation over the last two. In 2018, he started 30 games for the first time in his career — his previous high was 22 — and he’s on pace to reach that plateau for a second straight year.
Eiland said Matz is determined to succeed, and that is evident in his preparation as much as his focus every fifth day.
“I see it behind the scenes, I don’t just see it on gameday,” Eiland said. “I see the way he goes about his business on a daily basis, not just the days he’s pitching, but the days he doesn’t pitch, and the way he does his work. The way he stays in his routine. The way he is diligent in everything he needs to do to prepare for his start.
“He is convicted now in his pitches, he commits to every pitch. And if you are committed to every pitch you are going to throw it with conviction. He believes in what he is doing. He trusts his ability, and even when he makes a mistake he is getting away with it now.”