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 i sues that plagued him during a career-worst 2020 season. But since then, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster.The 31 Collin McHugh Jersey -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 Roger Clemens Jersey six innings of scorele s ball last time around, and Tuesday's 6-3 lo s began on a promising note.After a full-count curveball narrowly mi sed the zone in the second inning, Matz slid down to a crouch and took a moment to wipe sweat from his face. He immediately to sed 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.Scroll to ContinueMatz kept the ball in the yard and snapped off some good pitchesincluding a rare slider that left Shohei Ohtani shaking his headbut 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 David Ortiz Jersey game."I'm not walking away today thinking that was a bad outing," Matz said. "Those guys battled, they hit some singles through the infield and balls fell. So I think that's kind of how, today, more than anything, ultimately was lost. So that's very frustrating."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 Carl Yastrzemski Jersey 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 Ro s Stripling as the odd man out."I think it's a good problem to have when you've got six legit guys to go out and start the game," Matz said. "For me, it's not a motivator. I work as hard as I can to be the best I can every time out there. So, it's just kind of out of your hands." 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 silence anyone who Enrique Hernandez Jersey doubted his spot in the rotation going forward, but walked off the mound leaving the Blue Jays with more questions than answers.
