NEW YORK _ Steven Matz reached the dugout, jumped up on the bench, and sat quietly with his elbows on his knees. This time, there would be no public outburst after getting knocked around, only a private moment of frustration for an afternoon lost.
The Mets began the second half seemingly intent on avoiding a trade deadline selloff, thrashing the Rockies in consecutive games. But that momentum dissipated beneath a fusillade of line drives on Sunday afternoon, when the Mets absorbed an 11-4 drubbing because the left-hander Matz turned in the worst start of his major league career.
On Friday, general manger Sandy Alderson declared that the Mets would have to play "exceedingly well" to change his plans to sell leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. The Mets seemed to respond, outscoring the Rockies 23-5.
"The break probably helped us, brought some energy back to the team," Collins said before the game. "Guys were starting to drag a little bit."
But just as quickly, the Mets found themselves hopelessly out of the series finale, falling behind 9-0 before mounting any kind of resistance. On paper, the Mets won two of three games, a series victory.
In practice, they showed their inability to sustain positive momentum. It's just of the reasons that they are 41-48, 9 1/ games out of a wild-card spot, and planning for a sell-off of their remaining veteran talent.
It was over quickly, at least for Matz, who was given his leave with nobody out in the second inning. The Long Island native was booed off the mound.
By then, the Mets trailed 7-0, with Matz helpless to stem the tide. He fired fastball after fastball over the plate, and the Rockies did not miss, reclaiming the form that made them one of the National League's biggest surprises in the first half.
On paper, Matz lasted one-plus inning, departing after facing the first four batters of the second inning. It was the shortest start of his career. The seven earned runs equaled a career-high.
Despite throwing just 39 pitches, he allowed nine hits, four of them for extra bases. The damage included Ian Desmond's two-run single and Trevor Story's two-run double, both of which gave the Rockies a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
In the second, Matz allowed four consecutive hits, including a three-run shot to Nolan Arenado that put the Mets in a 7-0 hole. Mark Reynolds followed by cracking a single to right, which prompted manager Terry Collins to make his way to the mound for the hook.
After he was sidelined late in spring training with an elbow injury, Matz came off the DL and made his first start of the season on June 10. He logged at least six innings in his first five starts, posting a 2.12 ERA in that span.
But inconsistency has been a constant companion for the starting rotation this season, and Matz has proven to be no exception. In his last two starts, Matz has surrendered 12 runs on 16 hits in a combined 5 1/3 innings.
On Sunday, Matz delivered the shortest start by a Mets pitcher since Sean Gilmartin went just two-thirds of an inning last September.
Lucas Duda and Asdrubal Cabrera each hit homers, though those swings meant more to their trade value than they did to the outcome of the game. For the Mets, this has increasingly become the reality.
