Mets Game Notes 6/7/18

TAMPA BAY RAYS (43-44)
THIRD PLACE, AL EAST, -16.0 GB

CHAMPIONS

DIVISION CHAMPIONS

& NLDS WINNERS

LEAGUE & NLDS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS CHAMPIONS
New York Mets (35-49)
FOURTH PLACE, NL EAST, -12.5 GB

LEAGUE WILD CARD

Saturday, July 7, 2018 • 4:10 p.m.
Citi Field • Flushing, N.Y.LHP Blake Snell (11-4, 2.24) vs. LHP Steven Matz (4-5, 3.46)SNY • WOR 710 AM • 104.3 WAXQ-FM HD 2 • ESPN 1050

METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets have won three of their last four games and are 4-6 in their last 10 games...New York is 8-23 in its last 31 games and 10-28 in their last 38 contests...New York has gone 13 straight series without a series win since sweeping Arizona from May 18-20...The Mets are 18-40 since May 1...The Mets are 4-6 in Interleague action this year...New York has a .508 (189-183) winning percentage during Interleague play all-time, the best winning percentage among NL teams.
WALK-OFF GRAND SLAMS: José Bautista hit the eighth walk-off grand slam in franchise history last night...Below are the others.

HONORING RUSTY STAUB: Mets Hall of Famer Rusty Staub passed away on March 29 at age 73... The Mets will wear a patch on the right sleeve on their home and away uniforms during the 2018 season honoring Staub...A six-time All-Star, he had 2,716 hits and 292 homers during his 23-year career.

RAYS-METS NOTES: This is just the third time the Rays have played in Queens since 2000 (Mets went 2-1 in 2000 and 1-2 in 2009).

2018: 1-0 @NY: 1-0 @TB: 0-0

2015: 1-2 History 13-9 @NY: 0-0 @NY: 6-4 @TB: 1-2 @TB: 7-5

DATE
7/6/18 4/5/14 4/24/13 6/25/91 6/10/86 6/11/80 8/9/63 6/26/63

BATTER
José Bautista Ike Davis
Jordany Valdespin Kevin McReynolds Tim Teufel
Mike Jorgensen Jim Hickman
TIm Harkness

OPPONENT

INNING

SCORE

WALK-OFF GRAND SLAMS IN METS HISTORY

Tampa Bay Cincinnati
Los Angeles-NL Montreal Philadelphia
Los Angeles-NL Chicago-NL Chicago-NL

9 5-1 9 6-3 10 7-3 9 8-5 11 8-4 10 6-2 9 7-3 14 8-6

300 PLUS HOMERS - FIRST WALK-OFF: Last night was José Bautista's 337th career home run and his first walk-off homer in his career...Bautista is the second player in major league history to hit 300 or more homers before his first walk-off blast...Mark Teixeira's first walk-off homer came on his 409th career blast.
WALK-OFF WINS: New York posted its fourth walk-off win of the year last night...The other three (April 15, May 19 and June 26) were all walk-off RBI from Wilmer Flores, including a walk-off homer April 15 vs. Milwaukee.
LAST AT-BAT HEROICS: Last night was New York's 11th win this year in its last at-bat, tied for the fourth-most in the majors... Toronto is first with 17.
JOSÉ BAUTISTA: Belted his sixth career grand slam and first since August 5, 2015 with Toronto vs. Minnesota...It was also his sixth career walk-off RBI and first since August 10, 2014 with Toronto vs. Detroit...Bautista has a .432 OBP since joining the Mets on May 22...Has reached base safely in 18 of his last 19 games (.473 OBP)...Bautista he has four homers and 11 RBI over his last 12 contests...He is hitting .300 (15-50) with five doubles, four homers, 15 RBI and 14 runs scored over his last 17 games... He has drawn 20 base-on-balls in his last 19 games and 29 walks in 39 games with the Mets since May 22.
TOP 100: Bautista is two home runs shy of 339 career homers, which would tie him for 99th place on major league baseball's all-time list with Dave Parker, Boog Powell and Tino Martinez.
AT HOME: New York is 1-0 on their season-high 11-game homestand...The Mets have lost 15 of their last 18 home games... New York is 15-26 at home this year...The Mets are hitting .214 at home this year with 35 homers...New York has posted a 3.92 ERA at Citi Field this season.

STEVEN MATZ: Has the 11th-lowest ERA (2.92 - 20 earned runs/61.2 innings) in the National League since May 1 (min. 60 innings)...Matz is 3-3 in 11 starts during that span...He has allowed one earned run or fewer in seven of his 16 starts and he has five quality starts in his last eight starts.
ASDRÚBAL CABRERA: Has two homers and five RBI in his last four games...He is hitting .348 (23-66) with two doubles, four homers, 13 RBI, eight runs scored and a .427 OBP in his last 16 games...Cabrera has 15 homers, surpassing last year's total of 14.
FIRST HALF RBI: Cabrera has 49 RBI, his second-highest total prior to the All-Star break during his career...He had 51 RBI in 2011 for Cleveland in the first half...The only Mets second baseman with 50 or more RBI in the first half was Edgardo Alfonzo, who did it twice (58 RBI in 2000 and 55 RBI in 1999).
FLORES FLOURISHING: Wilmer Flores has driven in 10 runs in his last 11 games and has 13 RBI in his last 16 games...Flores hit in career-high 11 straight games, going 13-42 (.310), tied with Asdrúbal Cabrera for the team season-high from June 15-July 4...Flores has hit in 14 of his last 16 games...Over his last 38 games, Flores is batting .289 (35-121) with 10 doubles, five home runs, 21 RBI, 13 runs scored, 10 walks and a .338 OBP (dating back to May 4).
BRANDON NIMMO: Is 10th in the NL with a .382 OBP, sixth with a .898 OPS and 11th with a .515 slugging percentage...He has a career-high 12 homers and is tied for fourth in the majors with six triples.
SLAMS: The Mets have hit four grand slams this year, tied for fourth in the majors and equaling the total from all of last year.
NOAH SYNDERGAARD: Will start for Brooklyn (A) of the New York-Penn League on Sunday, July 8 at 4 p.m. at MCU Park vs. the SI Yankees...Syndergaard has been on the DL since May 26 with a strained ligament in his right index finger.
TRIPLE-A HOME RUN DERBY: All-Star Zach Borenstein will compete in the Triple-A Home Run Derby on Monday, July 9... Borenstein has 19 homers, which is tied for second in the PCL and tied for the eighth-most in the minors in 85 games while slugging at .492 for Las Vegas this season...Borenstein will play in the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 11.

VS. TAMPA BAY

UPCOMING OPPONENTS & PITCHING

Sun., July 8 RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-3, 3.92) vs. RHP Chris Flexen (0-1, 10.80) 1:10 p.m. (SNY, WOR 710 AM, 104.3 FM HD, ESPN 1050 AM)

steven matz LHP #322018 STATS: 4-5, 3.46 ERA
LAST START: Matz makes his 17th start of the season today...Earned his fourth win of the season at Miami on July 1st...The southpaw pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run, unearned, on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts...The lone run came after an errant throw allowed the run to score from third...Did not allow an earned run for the fourth time this season (first time since May 29 at Atlanta)... All four of those outings have come on the road...Matz has allowed six or fewer hits in 15 of his 16 starts this season...Became the second visiting pitcher to make three-straight starts without allowing an earned run at Marlins Park dating to his outing on July 24, 2016 (also, Stephen Strasburg, April 19, 2016-present).
VS. AL EAST: Matz has never faced the Rays in his career...Today's start marks his fifth-career start against a club from the American League East...Each of his previous four starts vs. the AL East came against the Yankees...In those four starts, Matz is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA (16 earned runs/21.1 innings).
CITI BALL: Matz tonight will be making his ninth home start of the season...Has pitched a quality start in each of his last three outings at home, posting a 3.60 ERA (eight earned runs/20.0 innings) in that span...Overall, in eight starts at Citi Field this season, Matz is 1-3 with a 4.57 ERA (22 earned runs/43.1 innings)... Opponents are batting .227 (35-154) against Matz this season at Citi Field...In his 27-career home starts, Matz owns a 7-11 record with a 4.40 ERA (74 earned runs/151.1 innings)...The lefty owns a 8.6 K/9 ratio (144 strikeouts/151.1 innings) at home in his career.
MATZ SINCE MAY: Is 3-3 with a 2.92 ERA (20 earned runs/61.2 innings) in 11 starts since the beginning of May...His 2.92 ERA since May 1 ranks 11th in the NL (min. 60 innings)...All six of his quality starts this season have come in that span...Has allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of those 11 starts in that stretch, including six starts allowing one or no earned runs...The Mets have won three of his last four starts.
STRANDED: In his last 11 starts, opponents are hitting .167 (17/102) against Matz with men on base...Opponents are also hitting .137 (7/51) with runners in scoring position in his last 11 starts...Opponents are hitting .203 (26/128) with runners on base and .219 (16/73) with a runner in scoring position so far this season.
BALLS IN PLAY: Only 14.1 percent of balls put in play against Steven Matz this season have been line drives, the lowest percentage against any major-league pitcher with at least 80.0 innings pitched this year...52.4 percent of the balls put in play against Matz have been grounders, the seventh-highest percentage in the majors (min. 80.0 innings), and the highest season percentage total of his career.
SUNNY DELIGHT: Matz will make his sixth daytime start of the season today...Has a 1-3 record with a 3.33 ERA in his previous five day starts (10 earned runs/27.0 innings)...In his 17-career daytime starts, Matz owns a 8-7 overall record with a 2.96 ERA (33 earned runs/100.1 innings) with 102 strikeouts and 31 walks...The lefty owns a 9.1 K/9 ratio in 17-career day starts.
KEEPIN' IT 100: Threw 109 pitches in his last start on July 1st at Miami...It was the second-most pitches Matz has thrown in a start this season (most, 110 pitches on June 26 vs. Pittsburgh) and the seventh-most he's thrown in his career...It was his fifth start in his last six games throwing over 100 pitches after not going over 100 pitches at any point this season prior to this stretch.
BEFORE THE BREAK: In 40-career starts before the All-Star Break, Matz is 15-12 with a 3.23 ERA (83 earned runs/231.1 innings)...His 3.23 first-half ERA is the 11th- best mark in the NL (14th in majors) since 2015 among all pitchers with at least 220.0 first-half innings in the last four seasons.
TOMORROW'S STARTER: RHP CHRIS FLEXEN (0-1, 10.80)
LAST START: Flexen tossed 6.0-shutout innings for Triple-A Las Vegas in his last start, July 2 vs. Salt Lake...Held the Bees to four hits and two walks while fanning six batters...Was his third scoreless start of the season...Has now allowed one earned run in his last 9.0 innings with Las Vegas.
IN THE MAJORS: Will be making his first major-league start this season and 10th of his career...Has made three appearances out of the bullpen in the majors this season, tossing 3.1 innings and allowing eight runs, four earned...Is 3-7 with an 8.06 ERA (46 earned runs/51.1 innings) in 17 games (nine starts) with the Mets...His last appearance with the Mets came on June 24 vs. the Dodgers...Took the loss in that outing after surrendering the game-winning run in the Mets' 11-inning setback vs. Los Angeles.

2018 GAME LOG (16 GS/6 QS)

METS RECORD: 9-7

Date Opp. Dec.

IP H

R ER HR BB K

NP ERA
89 6.75 93 3.00 83 3.77 74 4.42 88 4.98 88 4.23 95 3.86 79 4.42 94 3.80 42 3.55 100 3.42 105 3.53
103 3.31 97 3.68 110 3.69 109 3.46

4/1 STL L, 1-5
4/7 @WAS ND, 3-2
4/13 MIL W, 6-5 5.1 4/18 WAS ND, 11-5 4.0 4/25 @STL L, 1-9 3.1 5/5 COL L, 0-2 6.0 5/11 @PHI ND, 3-1 5.0 5/19 ARI ND, 5-4 4.0 5/24 @MIL W, 5-0 6.0 5/29 @ATL ND, 6-7 3.0 6/3 CHC L, 0-2 7.0 6/9 NYY ND, 3-4 6.0 6/16 @ARI W, 5-1 6.2 6/21 @COL L, 4-6 5.2 6/26 PIT ND, 4-3 7.0 7/1 @MIA W, 5-2 5.1

4.0 5.0

4 3 3 3 5 3 5 6 4 1 5 5 6 8 6 3

3 3
1 0
4 3
3 3
7 3
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 4 3

2 3 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 2

4 8 5 6 3 5

Height/Weight: 6-2/200Born: Stony Brook, NYResides: Stony Brook, NY

Bats/Throws: R/LAge: 27 (May 29, 1991)Signed Through: 2020

AWARDS + HONORS
» NL Rookie of the Month (May 2016)» MiLB Organization All-Star (2013, 2014, 2015)» Baseball America Triple-A All-Star (2015)» Sterling Organizational Pitcher of the Year (2014)

medical history

• »  Tommy John Surgery (5/8/10)
• »  15-Day DL - Partial Tear of the lat
  muscle on his left side (7/6/15-9/1/15)
• »  Bone spur removal from left elbow
  (10/4/16)
• »  Repositioning and decompressing of
  ulnar nerve in left elbow (8/23/17)

4 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 3 1 1 5 5 3 3 1 0

2 1 0 3 0 2 0 2 2 4 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 2

2 3 2 7 6 3 6 7 6

W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB K 2018 4-5 3.46 16 16 83.1 70 39 32 13 32 76 2017 2-7 6.0813 13 66.2 83 46 45 12 19 48

Career 19-20 3.85 57 57 318.0 316 147 136 43 92 287

MATZ VS. TAMPA BAY

Last Win: N/ACareer Record vs. Tampa Bay (0 starts): N/ACareer vs. Tampa Bay at Home (0 starts) N/ACareer vs. Tampa Bay on Road (0 starts): N/A

AVG

Rays Batters vs. Matz HR BB SO

AVG

HR BB SO

Last Loss: N/A

Duffy Hechavarria.333 (2/6) Ramos .333 (2/6)

0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

Smith
Total

.000 (0/3) 0
.278 (5/18) 0

0 1
0 3 Career

.333 (1/3)

MATZ SEASON + CAREER HIGHS

2018 Season
1 (4x, last, 7/1)
8 (4/7 @ WAS)
--
15.0 IP (5/24-6/3) --
8 (6/21 @ COL)
2 (4x, last, 6/9 vs. NYY)
7 (4/25 @ STL)
4 (2x, last, 6/9 vs. NYY)
7.0 (2x, last 6/26 vs. PIT)
--
-- Shutouts --
MATZ VS. LHB MATZ VS. RHB
YEAR AVG.AB HHR YEAR AVG.AB HHR
2018 .197 66 13 2 2018 .238 239 57 11
Career .255 278 71 4 Career .261 937 245 39
MATZ BATTING STATISTICS
YEAR AVG. AB R H RBI SAC
2018 .111 27 0 3 1 3
Career .153 98 2 15 9 10

Win Streak Strikeouts 10+ K Games Scoreless Streak Low Hits, CG

7 (4/17/16-5/25/16) 9 (2x, last 8/9/16 vs. ARI) -- 19.0 IP (5/20-5/31/16) --

High Hits, Game 10 (2x, last, 7/29/16 vs. COL)High HR, Game 3 (6/16/17 vs. WAS)High Runs, Game 7 (4x, last, 4/25/18 @ STL)

High Walks, Game IP, Game Complete Games

5 (6/22/17 @ LAD) 8.0 (5/25/16 @ WAS) --

Career XBH:
Most Hits, Game: Most RBI, Game:

Three doubles (last, 5/29/18 @ ATL) One triple (6/7/16 @ PIT)
3 (6/28/15 vs. CIN)
4 (6/28/15 vs. CIN)

FLEXEN VS. TAMPA BAY

Last Win: N/A Last Loss: N/ACareer Record vs. Tampa Bay (0 starts): N/ACareer vs. Tampa Bay at Home (0 starts): N/ACareer at Tampa Bay on Road (0 starts): N/A LAST START VS. RAYS: Flexen has never faced Tampa Bay.