Consistency.
It's the goal for every starting pitcher in Major League Baseball, yet only the good ones achieve it. For Blue Jays starter Steven Matz, it's been extra elusive.
Matz won his first four games as a Blue Jay, posting a 2.31 ERA in that span, and looked to have moved past the hard-contact issues that plagued him during a career-worst 2020 season. But since then, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster.
The 31-year-old endured a turbulent month of May, tested positive for COVID-19 in June, and treaded water in July. August started off great, as Matz spun six innings of scoreless ball last time around, and Tuesday's 6-3 loss began on a promising note.
After a full-count curveball narrowly missed the zone in the second inning, Matz slid down to a crouch and took a moment to wipe sweat from his face. He immediately tossed two excellent changeups to the next Los Angeles Angels batter, Jack Mayfield, the second of which induced a lazy pop-up on an off-balance swing.
Matz kept the ball in the yard and snapped off some good pitches -- including a rare slider that left Shohei Ohtani shaking his head-- but also walked three batters, as his pitch count spiraled out of control. With two runs on the board for the Angels already, Vlad Guerrero Jr. misplayed a routine pop-up in the fifth, adding another couple unearned runs and booting Matz from the game.
The final line wasn't great. Matz surrendered four runs (two earned) through 4 2/3 innings, allowed six hits, walked three and struck out five. Given the added importance of this start, the end result likely stings even more.
With a grueling stretch of games, including three doubleheaders, nearly in the rearview mirror, Toronto is expected to transition from a six-man rotation to a more conventional five-man staff in the coming days. The move leaves one of either Matz or Ross Stripling as the odd man out.
Matz remains a pivotal piece in Toronto's quest towards the playoffs; it just remains to be seen whether that's as the fifth Blue Jays starter or as the bullpen's newest long-man.
On Tuesday, the opportunity was there for the taking, yet Matz couldn't capitalize. He had a chance to shine and prove to his manager why he deserves a rotation spot, but walked off the mound leaving the Blue Jays with more questions than answers.
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