MIAMI — Daisuke Matsuzaka is ready to re-evaluate his warm-up routine.
With Mets officials concerned about the exorbitant number of pitches the right-hander throws in the bullpen to get loose — sometimes beginning several innings before entering in relief — Matsuzaka said Tuesday he could use a change.
“I don’t think there are any short-term effects in throwing the amount I do,” he said before the Mets’ 3-0 loss to the Marlins. “I don’t think it would affect me in that particular game, but the long-term effects are definitely going to take a toll on my body, so it’s something that I’ve thought about and I will definitely start making adjustments.
“With the weather getting warmer, my body probably doesn’t need as much to get warm, so I’m definitely going to try out a different routine.”
Matsuzaka allowed three runs, two of which were earned, in the eighth inning on Monday as part of a Mets bullpen meltdown in a 4-3 loss to the Marlins after Jon Niese threw seven shutout innings.
“It definitely hits me mentally, especially because I’ve been a starter my whole career,” Matsuzaka said. “I know how much effort starters put in preparing for the starts, and as well as [Niese] pitched, it hit me hard.”
Matt Harvey isn’t the only Mets pitcher on a comeback mission from Tommy John surgery this season.
“Hopefully I can come and contribute if there’s a need,” Jeremy Hefner said Tuesday after a throwing session at Marlins Park.
Hefner, who underwent the surgery last August, has been throwing from 90 feet and expects to increase to 120 feet in the coming days. He and Harvey (who is set to begin throwing at 120 feet) are with the Mets for this series — the team’s spring training complex, where both have been working out, is about two hours north in Port St. Lucie.
Jose Valverde, in only his third appearance in two weeks, pitched a scoreless eighth for the Mets. Manager Terry Collins said before the game that Carlos Torres has been bothered by a sore back muscle.
After not playing a game with the roof open at Marlins Park during the first two seasons of the stadium’s existence, the Mets on Tuesday played a second straight in the open air.
Collins was asked if he noticed a difference with the roof open.
“We thought the ball carried a lot better [Monday] than it has in the past,” Collins said. “Not just the two home runs, but the balls hit to the warning track.”