Mets pitcher Steven Matz woke up with pain in the right side of his back Tuesday and may have his next start pushed back a day as a result.
Matz tore a lat muscle on his left side earlier this season and was forced to miss six weeks. The 24-year-old showed little concern about the new discomfort.
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“It’s one of those things where you wake up and I just slept wrong or something, so I’m just being precautionary about it,” Matz said, via the New York Post..
Mets manager Terry Collins has yet to name Matz as his No. 4 starter in the team's NLDS rotation. Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard all figure to start, but Collins is expected to wait until this weekend to announce the final spot.
Matz, if healthy, remains the favorite over veteran Bartolo Colon, mostly because the Mets are reluctant to use Matz in the bullpen because of his injury history, the Post noted.
“I think we’re fairly certain on three (starters), and we’ll figure out the fourth as we get closer to the playoffs,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. “Anything we decide now is tentative, anyway, based on what happens, and this is a good example of how something can happen.”