Cubs will turn to Hammel in Game 4, but for how long?
Jason Hammel wants to go as deep into his National League championship series Game 4 start against the New York Mets as possible.
The Chicago Cubs right-hander gets the ball Wednesday night at Wrigley Field, and he'll need to improve his staying power if he hopes to prevent manager Joe Maddon from getting the bullpen up and in the game early.
Maddon is sensitive to the situation, and he has talked to his starting pitchers about going with the early hook.
But Maddon also likes winning baseball games, especially at this time of the year, so he is going to do what he has to do.
"If you see somebody warming up, pitch better," Maddon said.
Hammel was OK for the Cubs during the regular season, going 10-7 with a 3.74 ERA. The 33-year-old pitcher scuffled in the second half, going 5-3 with a 5.10 ERA, and Hammel lasted just 3 innings in his Game 4 NLDS start against the Cardinals.
The Cubs beat St. Louis 6-4 to set off a wild party at Wrigley and advance to the NLCS, but Hammel allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks before making yet another early exit.
With so much riding on Wednesday's start against the Mets, Hammel knows he has to stay relaxed and pitch better.
"Pressure is what you make of it, and I honestly believe if I'm pressuring myself, I'm worried about the wrong thing," Hammel said. "I'll be prepared with my gameplan, go back and watch what I did when I faced the Mets earlier this year and we'll kind of go off that."
On May 13, Hammel beat the Mets at Wrigley Field while pitching 8 innings and allowing 1 run on 5 hits.
After facing power right-handers Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom in the first three games of the NLCS, the Cubs get rookie lefty Steven Matz Wednesday.
Matz made his first postseason start on Game 4 of the NLDS against the Dodgers last Tuesday and struggled, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 5 innings.
Matz has never faced the Cubs.
"I think it's going to be a lot of fun," he said. "I've never been here before or played here before or never even seen a game here. I'm really excited."
During the regular season, Matz made 6 starts for New York and was 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA. He missed six weeks with a torn lat muscle earlier in the season and has also dealt with back soreness.
"He's got to stay healthy, No. 1," New York manager Terry Collins said. "This guy's got plus stuff. He's got a plus fastball. He's going to be 94 to 97 (mph). He's got a plus curveball. He's got a good changeup. Now it's a matter of going out there every five days through the course of the season."
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