Well, the rotation problem which surfaced when the team had to move Matt Harvey to the bullpen has reached near crisis after another terrible Steven Matz start resulting in a Mets 9-1 loss.

Strange thing is Matz had been looking good retiring the first four batters, and the light hitting Kolten Wong, the only lefty in the Cardinals lineup, strode to the plate.

He’d hit the ball up middle, and Wilmer Flores couldn’t make the bare-hand play. Michael Wacha bunted, Matz made a terrible throw, and Flores didn’t come off the base thereby allowing Wong to get to third.

That was the first of three Mets errors between the third and fourth.

Like other Mets meltdowns, we saw runs being walked in and safety squeezes where runs score easily. At the end of it Matz didn’t get out of the fourth.

Matz’s final line was 3.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K.

Matz was victimized by poor defense, but he was also victimized by poor pitching. Time and again, when he had a chance to make a big pitch, he didn’t. It should leave the Mets wondering what to do with his rotation spot.

Maybe that spot could go to Corey Oswalt.

The rookie pitcher, who was last year’s Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, came in and did yeoman’s work.

He entered into a bases loaded jam with one out, and if not for an uncharacteristic Todd Frazier error, he would’ve limited the damage to one run. As it stood, he limited the damage to two runs.

Mostly, Oswalt saved the Mets bullpen by pitching the final 4.2 innings, and he pitched well yielding just two runs on two hits. He’d walk none and strike out four.

Arguably, he’s earned another look, which is more than you can say about Harvey or Matz right now.

Game Notes: Asdrubal Cabrera was held out of the game with an injury. Jay Bruce delivered the Mets lone run with a third inning RBI single.