VIERA, Fla. — Daisuke Matsuzaka took another step toward solidifying the final spot in the Mets’ rotation with another strong outing Thursday.
The right-hander surrendered a leadoff double to Denard Span, but gave up just three hits and a run, while striking out four and walking none in 3 ²/₃ innings in a 7-5 win over the Nationals at Space Coast Stadium.
He declined to speculate whether he believes he has done enough to make the rotation.
“Until the decision is made, I have no say in it,” Matsuzaka said. “But I’ve been preparing, expecting myself to be in that position. … I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve done.”
Terry Collins liked what he saw.
“He knows how to pitch,” the manager said. “You don’t pitch as long as he has and have the success he’s had with one or two pitches. He can throw any pitch at any time.”
But Collins isn’t ready to put Matsuzaka in the rotation yet.
“We’ve got another two weeks [of spring training] to go and he’s probably got two more [starts], if not three,” Collins said.
Matsuzaka let Dan Warthen off the hook after the Mets pitching coach used a racial slur in front of Matsuzaka’s translator this week.
“Everyone makes mistakes and Dan already commented on it,” Matsuzaka said through his interpreter, Jeff Cutler, the Japanese-American in front of whom Warthen said “Chinaman” on more than one occasion.
“I don’t want to dig deeper and add to what it is,” Matsuzaka said.
Matsuzaka added he would be fine working with Warthen in the future.
“I don’t expect our relationship to change going forward,” Matsuzaka said.
Cutler insisted he was OK with Warthen, as well.
“Same with me,” Cutler said. “Dan and Sandy [Alderson, the Mets GM] already talked about it.”
Earlier Thursday, Warthen apologized again for using the slur.
“I’ve already made the apologies to all the appropriate people,” Warthen said. “I don’t think there are any ill feelings by any of the people in this room. I made a mistake. I live up to it. It will not happen again.”
Noah Syndergaard doesn’t know how much longer he will be in major league camp, so he’s making his time count. He struck out five in 3 ²/₃ innings.
“I still get pretty nervous,” said Syndergaard, who knows it has been all but decided he will be going to the minors. “There’s still an opportunity to make the team, but there’s a bigger picture involved. There’s a money standpoint to it and things I’ve got to work on to be consistent big league pitcher.”
Collins wasn’t ready to put a time line on it.
“There’s a lot of people involved in those decisions,” Collins said. “In the next week, we’ll meet and figure out what the next step is for everybody.”
Both Syndergaard and Collins were encouraged by the righty’s breaking-ball command.
“I was able to mix in some pretty good changeups,” Syndergaard said. “Even though I didn’t throw my curveball for strikes that many times, I was able to throw it in key situations. Maybe a hitter might be on my fastball, so he couldn’t eliminate that [changeup] …”
First baseman Brandon Allen left the game with a calf injury.