'Nasty Stuff': Matz Dominates as Blue Jays Cling to Playoff Hopes

Steven Matz fell off the mound as his diving curveball hurtled in toward Baltimore’s Kelvin Gutierrez, placed perfectly on the inside corner of the zone.

As home plate umpire Alan Porter reared back, pulling the trigger on a strikeout, Gutierrez shook his head in disbelief. A batter later, Tyler Nevin shared the same head shake and walk back to the Baltimore dugout.

“I knew he was on from the beginning,” Manager Charlie Montoyo said.

The return to the road bench was a frequent trip Friday, as Matz delivered a near-flawless outing when the Blue Jays needed it most. His dominant seven innings didn’t come against the Bronx bombers or division-leading Rays, but the lefty’s brilliance kept Toronto’s playoff hopes alive in what could be Matz’s last start as a Blue Jay.

“He's got nasty stuff," Cavan Biggio said of Matz, "It’s been there all year. I just felt like he was attacking each hitter with confidence ... It’s exactly what we needed out of him.”

With the win, Matz became Toronto’s first 14-game winner since 2016 (the last time the Blue Jays made the playoffs) and further solidified his claim for a multi-year deal and healthy raise in 2022. While Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien will draw award nominations and nine-digit free agency bids, Matz, too, defied all expectations during his 2021 in Toronto.

A year off a 9.68 ERA and 14 homers allowed in six starts, Matz’s strong Friday brought his 2021 innings pitched over 150 and dropped his ERA to 3.76. The Rogers Centre crowd recognized Matz with a roaring ovation as left the mound in the eighth. When José Berríos met the lefty at the top dugout step with Toronto’s home run jacket, urging Matz to don the blazer, cheers spiked in celebration of the starters' potential last outing before heading to free agency.

“Coming off such a terrible year last year," Matz said. "The Blue Jays giving me a chance and believing in me, that feels pretty good.”

1) Throw a gem
2) Wear the jacket 👏

💎 @Smatz88 💎 pic.twitter.com/XAGdsM6JBh
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) October 2, 2021

A messy four-run eighth inning forced Montoyo to turn to closer Jordan Romano for five outs, but the Blue Jays still escaped with victory to keep playoff hopes alive.

Help Coming?

With Friday’s win, the Blue Jays took care of their end of the bargain, for now. Even with a sweep to finish the season, Toronto will need help to earn a spot in the postseason, chasing the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mariners.

The Washington Nationals missed an early bases-loaded no-outs opportunity to assist the Blue Jays, but eventually fell, 4-2, to the Red Sox in D.C. In Friday’s other AL East tussle, the Tampa Bay Rays scraped by the Yankees, 4-3 — Toronto would need to win out, and the Yankees go winless, to catch New York.

The Blue Jays have two contests left to pick up a game on both Seattle and Boston. The Mariners began a final series against the Angels at 10:10 EST on Friday.

With Friday’s win, the blips on the Blue Jays' 2021 heart monitor keep coming, but Toronto will likely have to sweep the weekend and get some help to avoid an eventual flatline.

“It’s what you want to feel," Matz said. "Going into October 1st you want to be pitching important games.”