NEW YORK _ One by one, Steven Matz mowed down the Pirates.
Matz on Saturday delivered his best start of the season, and possibly the greatest of his career. He did not give up his first hit until the fourth inning and allowed five total as he notched his first-career shutout in New York's 3-0 victory.
The Mets rotation is starting to come around as July ends, with several impressive performances being strung together. Perhaps more importantly, the club's starters are pitching up to potential.
Matz efficiently worked the Pirates, and even danced around some trouble. His biggest escape came in a scoreless game in the top of the sixth, when he got Melky Cabrera to ground into an inning-ending double play with runners on the corners. It may have been even sweeter for Matz because Cabrera ended his no-hit bid with a ground-rule double in the fourth.
Minutes after Matz rolled the double-play ball, Michael Conforto sent a solo shot into the right-field seats to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Until then, the Mets struggled against Pirates starter Trevor Williams. It looked like another one of those nights in which New York would be doomed by its inability to sync up all parts of its game.
Williams no-hit the Mets through four. In the fifth inning, J.D. Davis ended the no-no with a double. Two innings later, Davis blasted a two-run home run to center field to give the Mets a 3-0 advantage.
Earlier in the day, the Mets placed Dominic Smith on the 10-day injured list because of a stress reaction in his left foot. One of the guys who should receive more playing time is J.D. Davis, who was hitting .291 before he mashed the homer off Williams.
Williams pitched well, allowing three runs over seven innings. But because of Matz, who only required 99 pitches for a complete game, it proved meaningless.
Matz only needed 78 pitches to get through seven innings, so he went back out for the eighth. He only used 11 pitches to post a clean inning. He then pitched in the ninth inning for the first time in his career.
The Mets' starting pitching has been inconsistent this season. They haven't been able to put together many good weeks, even if Jacob deGrom has evened out to be the dominant ace you knew he was.
If New York wants to climb out of this ditch _ the Mets are still six games under .500 _ there will need to be more outings like the one Matz had on Saturday. The game moved quickly as he continued to deal.
He completed his best act of the season.
