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Game recap May 4: Matz breezes, Duda homers (twice!) as Mets take sixth straight series

WHO WON:

The blue-hatted, white jersey with blue striped New York Mets

WHAT HAPPENED, BRAVES MEET THEIR MATZ:

Since giving up 7 runs to the Miami Marlins in his first start of the season, Steven Matz has been phenomenal. Today was no different, as the soon-to-be 25 year old blanked the Atlanta Braves for 7.2 innings — striking out eight in the process. In fact, if it weren’t for the Braves starting pitcher, Matz would have had a perfect game until the 7th inning. Matz worked from ahead in the count for most of the game once again, attacking the zone heavily as he threw a strike 74 percent of the time. In addition to attacking the strike zone, the southpaw relied on his fastball heavily. He also threw the pitch 74 percent of the time — the largest such amount he has done in his five starts this season. So all that was said to show that Matz was nothing short of brilliant on Wednesday. Going back over his last four games, Matz has only let up two runs over 27 innings—owing a 29:5 K:BB ratio over that span. The young lefty is coming into his own, and he is but another strong option in an already great Mets rotation.

WHAT HAPPENED, A TRIO OF PAIRS:

The book on the offense was pretty simple: they were able to get to the Braves starter Jhoulys Chacin early for eight runs, six of which were brought via their four home runs. They no doubt packed a punch Wednesday, as three two-run homeruns were hit before the end of the 3rd inning—Rene Rivera in the 2nd, Asdrubal Cabrera in the 3rd and Lucas Duda also in the 3rd. Once Chacin exited the game, the Mets would only scratch across two baserunners in 3.1 innings. But it’s not like that mattered at all. The outburst that the lineup had against Atlanta’s starter was more than enough for the start that Steven Matz turned in today.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

This game was pretty simple, the hitters hit and Matz dominated the opposition. If the Mets were to play all 162 games like this, they would be 162-0. Alas, that isn’t how baseball works, and we can only hope for the Mets to duplicate this type of run differential padding performance where the offense puts up more than enough runs for a pitcher who stifles the other team.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

Coming off of a series win against the Atlanta Braves, the Mets will attempt to win another one against the San Diego Padres. Personally I am excited to see this one unfold, especially the game that Noah Syndergaard starts, because the Mets like to pitch well and the Padres seem to have a propensity for striking out — they lead the National League in strikeout percentage. Today, however, the Mets will send Jacob deGrom and his 1.02 ERA, 2.15 FIP inducing right arm to the mound against Colin Rea.

Photo credit: Anthony Gruppuso – USA Today Sports

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