All of a sudden, home-field advantage and trying to cram a game in while dodging raindrops became secondary story lines Friday for the Mets, who provided a less-than-cheerful update on left-handed starter Steven Matz’s back condition and his availability for the NLDS roster against the Dodgers.
“The concern level has certainly gone up,” general manager Sandy Alderson said of Matz, who is suffering from back spasms. “It hasn’t seemed to get better.”
Matz was “not a lot better,” according to manager Terry Collins, whose team will play a day-night (1 p.m. and 7 p.m.) doubleheader Saturday against the Nationals after Friday night’s game was rained out.
Matz, who also spent time on the disabled list with a partial tear of the lat muscle on his left side, was scratched from a mid-week start in Philadelphia with the explanation that he had slept awkwardly. His return was pushed back, and with tightness behind his shoulder blade, the rookie from Long Island was sent Friday for additional examinations.
“I probably downplayed it a little too much at the outset based on hope rather than information. That fact that it hasn’t responded particularly well is concerning,” Alderson said. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t respond quickly over the next few days. These things are sort of hard to predict.”
Collins said the possibility of Matz pitching this weekend rested somewhere between non-existent and the likelihood of a stranger handing you a winning lottery ticket. The Mets want Matz to pitch somewhere before the playoffs begin, likely the Instructional League in Florida.
“Right now I don’t see how he’s going to be ready to pitch this weekend,” said Collins, stressing nothing is etched in stone. “That can change. He can go and they may do something and he may come in tomorrow and say, ‘I’m ready to go,’ and Sunday we can get him some innings.
“But he’s got to pitch, go out there and throw his 100 pitches … then we’ve got to get him to the Instructional League and get him some work.”
Immediately, the barrage of “if what?” and “who then?” questions arose, though Alderson said one bright spot is that time — though less than a week — remains before any decision has to be made.
“One important point is we don’t have to make a decision until a week from today, so a lot can happen during that time both in terms of physical health as well as actual innings pitched,” Alderson said. “If we decide that Steven is not in the rotation for whatever reason, he’ll be considered for the bullpen and either be put in it or not, based on a whole other set of criteria.”
Alderson reiterated the importance of getting some work for Matz (4-0), who last pitched on Sept. 24.
“We would want him to throw somewhere between now and the playoffs, and if he’s able to do that then we’ll make a judgement at that time based on what we see,” Alderson said. “Whether or not he pitches this weekend won’t necessarily determine whether he’s on the roster or not on the roster or in what capacity, starter or reliever.”
One choice for the NL Division Series rotation is Bartolo Colon.
“We’re just going to have to make a decision on the totality of the circumstances,” Alderson said.
There are choices, thanks to the way the Mets navigated their rotation all season.
“One of the by-products of having a six-man rotation at least for a while is that we have six choices,” Alderson said.
In Saturday’s first game, Noah Syndergaard will face Washington’s Gio Gonzalez while the Mets will have Matt Harvey go against Max Scherzer in the second game.