#Steven Matz has Mets gushing after dominant outing

Steven Matz was sharp in a three-inning simulated game at Citi Field on Monday and at least one of his teammates liked what he saw.

“He looked really, really good,’’ Jacob deGrom said after Matz was done. “That was very impressive to watch, maybe the best I’ve seen him in a long time. It was very impressive.”

Matz whiffed the first three batters he faced: Andres Gimenez, Tomas Nido and Robinson Cano.

The fact that Matz has already worked up to three innings was encouraging to manager Luis Rojas, who expects to use Matz as part of a traditional five-man rotation in what will be an unorthodox season — if it’s played.

“He looked great,’’ Rojas said. “All the pitchers are looking great. I talked to the catchers on the side after each inning [Monday] and [Wilson] Ramos complimented how Matz looked.”

Rojas liked how Matz was able to use his fastball and breaking ball while ahead in the count, as well as his changeup and curveball during his outing.

“He was playing with his pitches today and looking like he was in midseason form,’’ Rojas said. “Like Jake [Sunday]. I’m excited guys maintained their form. They communicated with the performance and pitching coaches and it’s showing. We’re seeing it up close. I’m excited for a couple of days of simulated games, matching up batters and hitters.”

Matz’s spot in the rotation was hardly guaranteed following the offseason signings of Michael Wacha, who appeared in a simulated game later on Monday, and Rick Porcello. But with Noah Syndergaard out for the season following Tommy John surgery this spring, Matz’s role will be even more important than anticipated.

And deGrom clearly enjoyed seeing his fellow starter work.

“Everything was right where he wanted it,’’ deGrom said. “It was exploding out of his hand, so it was fun to watch.”

And while deGrom was speaking to reporters on a Zoom call, he sounded like he was talking to Matz at one point.

“Just go out and compete,” deGrom said. “That’s all you can do: Throw the pitch with intent every pitch. I think the upside [for Matz] is unbelievable.”

Among the challenges for Matz and the rest of the rotation will be building up their pitch counts in three weeks of spring training 2.0.

“They showed up in good shape, but not with [regular] pitch counts,’’ Rojas said. “We don’t have time to ramp up into the regular season.”

For Matz and the others, Rojas said the coaching staff would put together a schedule “almost every day, from one day to another” rather than planning out the entire spring like they would in a traditional spring training.

“You want starters at the beginning of this short stint of a season to go deeper than earlier,” Rojas said. “But we definitely need to get there.”