Sea Dogs' Mata cruises to career highs

A lot of the numbers that came out of Bryan Mata's start Saturday night were his best in four years as a professional. Never before had the third-ranked Red Sox prospect thrown seven innings or 103 pitches or recorded nine strikeouts. But with two on, two outs and a 2-0 count on Christian Williams in Mata's final frame, the right-hander was a pair of mistakes away from a career high he didn't want.
The next ball he threw caught the bottom of the zone -- and Williams' bat. It rolled to first baseman Tommy Joseph and sealed Mata's first scoreless outing since June 14. He walked five batters but didn't allow a hit after a leadoff single in the first inning of Double-A Portland's 2-0 win over New Hampshire at Hadlock Field.

"He never backed off," Sea Dogs pitching coach Paul Abbott said. "He never showed any stress when things looked like they could have been going south. He just stayed even-keeled. He never got too high, he never got too low and really settled in. He had five strikeouts in a row at one point. It was just one of those nights where it's really fun to watch."

Abbott had not worked with Mata (4-6) before the Venezuela native's 1.50 ERA with Class A Advanced Salem earned him a promotion to the Eastern League in July. He's noticed that the level head Mata displayed Saturday night is commonplace.
Mata, for example, did not record an out in his first start this month. Bowie tagged him for four earned runs on five hits. The contact, Abbott said, was not strong. It was still enough to drive up Mata's pitch count and force Portland to reach into its bullpen.
The young pitcher was disappointed, Abbott said. But that emotion didn't linger or have a residual effect on his next start. He's thrown at least four innings in each outing since, and he struck out eight in a game against Reading that never became official because of weather.
"His personality alone is one of a seasoned vet," the pitching coach said. "He doesn't show a lot of emotions. He doesn't let the game speed up on him, which for a 20-year-old is incredible. He's very coachable and he applies suggestions and understands the value of what you're trying to get across. He applies it and he does it and he works on it. He's a hard worker."
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About a month ago, the duo began to tinker with the arm slot in Mata's delivery. His slider had lost depth. His curveball had approached slurve territory. His changeups missed arm-side. They were good pitches -- they weren't consistent pitches.
So, they raised Mata's three-quarter slot a bit higher. The goal was to liven up those flagging pitches and give him a more consistent release point and more direct motion to the plate.
"It's become him," Abbott said.
The new Mata took a moment to dial in Saturday. Logan Warmoth sent his second pitch into center field and Josh Palacios drew a six-pitch walk two batters later. But Brock Lundquist grounded into a double play to end the first inning. Mata got another 2-for-1 deal to erase a walk in the second, then faced one over the minimum through the sixth. He threw 13 of 24 pitches for balls in that final frame, issuing two more walks, but stranded both runners.

Red Sox No. 16 prospect Durbin Feltman picked up his fifth save by tossing the last two frames of the Sea Dogs' 16th shutout of the season. He yielded two hits but stuck out four and didn't walk a batter.
Fourth-ranked Red Sox prospect Jarren Duran tripled to lead off the home half of the first and scored on Tommy Joseph's sacrifice fly. Brett Netzer walked to open the second and came around on back-to-back singles by Jeremy Rivera and Nick Lovullo.
Those players have two more games to add to their 2019 totals. Mata, though, is finished for the year with a 5.03 ERA in 11 Double-A starts. That's a number he'll want to lower.
"He knows there's a prize waiting for him -- a big prize -- and he's hungry to get there," Abbott said. "He's hungry to get better."