ATLANTA — Only three starts into his major league comeback, it’s clear the Mets should just say “Dice Nay.”
That is, if the Mets intend to honor their vow of attempting to win every game until the final out is played this season, they can’t continue letting Daisuke Matsuzaka take a turn in the rotation.
“The difference between my good pitches and my bad pitches is just too big and that’s something that needs to change,” Matsuzaka said yesterday after a third straight brutal start, in the Mets’ 13-5 loss to the Braves at Turner Field.
The artist formerly known as Dice-K lasted only three innings, in which he surrendered six earned runs on seven hits, including a mammoth three-run homer by Freddie Freeman. Matsuzaka’s ERA is 10.95 in three Mets starts, all of which were lopsided losses.
With Aaron Harang now on-board at Triple-A Las Vegas — the Mets signed the veteran to a minor league contract on Sunday — it remains to be seen if Matsuzaka will continue with the club.
“There’s no reason why we probably don’t run [Matsuzaka] out there again,” manager Terry Collins said. “We’ll get him ready for the next start.”
But Matsuzaka sounded prepared for the possibility he would be released.
“Looking at the way I pitched today, if I’m told this is my last start, then it’s something I’ll have to accept,” Matsuzaka said.
Collins referred to Harang as rotation “protection” and said the right-hander could be used to start in the Sept. 14 doubleheader against the Marlins at Citi Field. But the Mets might want Harang earlier based on what they saw yesterday.
Freeman’s two-run double in the first gave the Braves a quick lead, before Matsuzaka allowed an RBI single to Jordan Schafer in the second. Later that inning, Freeman launched a three-run homer into the right-field seats. After pitching a perfect third, Matsuzaka was removed for a pinch-hitter in the fourth.
“He’s got to get it going for us,” Collins said. “Because we’ve got a lot more games to play this month and he’s going to be a part of those games right now, so he’s got to get better.”
The Mets (62-74) lost their second straight and will have Carlos Torres on the mound tonight against Kris Medlen.
If Matsuzaka’s performance wasn’t bad enough, Gonzalez Germen and Pedro Feliciano were knocked around in the middle innings — each allowed two runs — after the Mets had pulled within 6-3. The carnage was complete in the eighth, when David Aardsma allowed three runs, two of which were earned.
Freeman, who has seamlessly replaced the retired Chipper Jones as a Mets killer, finished with five RBIs. Andrelton Simmons knocked in three runs with a 2-for-5 performance.
Among the few highlights for the Mets was Tim Byrdak’s return to a major league mound after undergoing surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder last September. The 38-year-old reliever pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in which he allowed one hit.
If Matsuzaka receives another chance with the Mets, it likely would come on Sunday in Cleveland. Matsuzaka made 19 starts this season for the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate before opting out of his contract to sign with the Mets, who needed rotation help with Jenrry Mejia and Jeremy Hefner sidelined for the remainder of the season. The team has since lost ace Matt Harvey to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and is waiting to determine if he will undergo Tommy John surgery.
“One of the things we’ve been a little surprised at is [Matsuzaka] has been so known for locating his pitches,” Collins said. “And that’s something he’s not doing.”