NEW YORK _ In years past _ in months past, even _ Steven Matz never would have been granted the chance to put together the kind of game he had Saturday night.
Working around a bunch of baserunners and never particularly efficient, Matz got through a gutsy six innings with three runs (two earned) allowed, leading the Mets to a 5-3 win against the Rockies. The final of his career-high-tying 120 pitches was a huge one: a curveball up in the zone, inducing a swing-and-miss from Charlie Blackmon, the Colorado leadoff hitter seeing Matz for a fourth time, to strand a pair of runners.
Bench coach Jim Riggleman and pitching coach Dave Eiland made the decision, in place of an ejected Mickey Callaway, to leave Matz in for that critical at-bat. It put on full display the recently developed trust the Mets have in the left-hander (and, perhaps, a lack of confidence in their middle relievers).
