We knew the Mets were loaded with young starting pitching.
Well, the best of the bunch made his debut Sunday. In record fashion.
Steven Matz limited the Reds to two runs on five hits and three walks while
striking out six in 7⅔ innings in his major league debut.
Yet manager
Terry Collins was more thrilled with the offense Matz provided. The
southpaw drove in four runs, the most ever by a pitcher in a debut in
major league history. It also was the most RBIs by a Met -- pitcher or
position player -- in a major league debut in franchise history.
"I love hitting, so it's pretty cool to have that record," Matz said.
A good hitting pitcher is as rare as a perfect game.
While Matz stroked his way into the record books, more Cub fans begin to grumble at Joe Maddon's line up card where the pitcher is hitting eighth in critical situations. The losing streak does not help, and Maddon has been consistent with his explanation that batting a pitcher in the 8th spot gives Addison Russell better pitches therefore, better for his development. In essence, Maddon is sacrificing scoring opportunities to develop a young player. This shows that the Cubs were not planning to be a contender this season.
Starters BA for the Cubs:
Hammel .216
Wood .120
Hendricks .074
Arrieta .034
Lester .000
Maybe the Cubs should concentrate more on developing contact hitting pitchers.
