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CHICAGO -- In the eighth start of his major league career, Steven Matz will attempt to pitch the New York Mets into the World Series on Wednesday. The 24-year-old left-hander takes the mound with seven days of rest as the Mets aim to complete a four-game National League Championship Series sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
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"We've got to come out tomorrow and Steve Matz has got to give us a game," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "Our bullpen is pretty rested, and if Steven can get us five or six (innings), we've got a lot of answers in the bullpen for any matchups we need."
Matz took a 3-1 loss last week in Game 4 of the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing three runs in five innings.
A Long Island native who went 4-0 in six regular-season starts this year, Matz spent seven weeks on the disabled list due to a torn left lat muscle before being activated by the Mets on Sept. 2. However, he struggled with back soreness in late September and was scratched from his final two scheduled regular-season starts.
The occasionally erratic schedule since returning hasn't bothered him.
"No, I still feel set to go," Matz said Tuesday. "We've been doing this before. We've been on a six-man (rotation), been on a five-man, we've had days off. ... (I) feel ready to go."
Matz has never faced the Cubs, but he expects to be a quick learner.
"I don't really have a history with them," he said before Game 3. "They look like a tough lineup. They're a bunch of young, fiery guys. Matt (Harvey) and Noah (Syndergaard) have done a great job the first two games, so I'm just going to watch Jacob (deGrom on Tuesday), see how he attacks them and try to just build off those guys."
Matz at least got a chance for an up-close look at Wrigley Field.
Upon arrival in Chicago on Monday, he and his teammates walked around the park and even climbed atop the manually operated center field scoreboard.
"We got up to the scoreboard, checked out all the scenery and stuff," he said. "It was pretty cool."
