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          New York Mets

          Mets to skip Noah Syndergaard in Miami as Steven Matz returns

          • Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff WriterSep 1, 2015, 08:41 PM
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              Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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          NEW YORK -- Noah Syndergaard will have his start skipped in Miami in order to conserve his innings count. Fellow rookie Steven Matz will fill in this weekend against the Marlins. The New York Mets then will go to a six-man rotation that includes both pitchers the next turn.

          Syndergaard is at 152 innings this season. That already exceeds his 2014 innings count by 15.

          The Mets similarly skipped Matt Harvey on Aug. 23 in Colorado in order to keep his innings in check as he returns from Tommy John surgery.

          Matz was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday as rosters expanded. He made four rehab starts, including a pair with Double-A Binghamton. Matz allowed two hits and two walks while striking out 10 in 11 1/3 scoreless innings with the B-Mets.

          “I felt really good, was able to trust my pitches and get my sharpness back a little bit," Matz said. "I’m pretty happy with where I’m at right now.”

          Matz (2-0, 1.32 ERA) made two major league starts before landing on the DL with a lat strain.

          The Mets are hoping a six-man rotation for most of September will be sufficient to keep Harvey's innings in check without having to skip him again, but they have not ruled out Harvey missing another start. Doctors have recommended -- but not yet mandated -- that Harvey toss no more than 180 innings. He is currently at 160 innings. The Mets likely will give Logan Verrett a small number of spot starts, too, as a seventh starter.

          Using Jacob deGrom, Matz and Bartolo Colon over the weekend at Miami lines up Jonathon Niese, Harvey and deGrom for the showdown against the second-place Washington Nationals in D.C. that begins Monday. The Nats have lined up Max Scherzer, Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg for that series.