Matthew Robert Gage (born February 11, 1993) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Houston Astros of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has played in MLB for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Amateur career

A native of

Johnstown, New York Johnstown is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County in the U.S. state of New York. The city was named after its founder, Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York and a major general during the Sev ...

, Gage attended Broadalbin-Perth High School in

Broadalbin, New York Broadalbin is a town in Fulton County, New York, on the eastern border of the county and northwest of Albany. The town was named after the Breadalbane Region in Scotland by an early settler. The town contains a village also called Broadalbin ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for Siena College. In three seasons with the Saints, Gage pitched to an 11–16

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

, 3.99

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and 212 strikeouts in 248 innings. In 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

Gage was drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in the 10th round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. He was assigned to the Rookie-level

Arizona League Giants Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four C ...

for the remainder of the 2014 season, appearing in 13 games and posting a 2–0 record, 1.89 ERA, and 32 strikeouts. Gage began the 2015 season with the Class-A

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previo ...

, and was later promoted to the Double-A

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. The ...

. In total, Gage went 6–7 with a 4.27 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 116 total innings. He played the entire 2016 season with Richmond, making 23 starts and posting a 9–7 record, 3.38 ERA, and 106 strikeouts in 136 innings. Gage made his Triple-A debut in 2017, appearing in games for Richmond and the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

. In a career-high 145 innings, he went 6–11 with a 4.21 ERA and 95 strikeouts, and was named a mid-season All-Star for Richmond. Gage began the 2018 season with Richmond, and made appearances in Sacramento, but struggled to a 6.45 ERA. He was released by the Giants organization on July 13, 2018.

New York Mets

On August 4, 2018, Gage signed a minor league contract with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

organization. He was assigned to the Double-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mirab ...

, and also appeared for the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. In total for 2018, Gage played 20 games and posted a 7–11 win–loss record, 5.16 ERA, and 80 strikeouts in 103 innings.

Diablos Rojos del Mexico

Gage elected free agency in the offseason, and signed with the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their hom ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

for the 2019 season. In 118 total innings, Gage went 10–4 with a 5.57 ERA and 106 strikeouts. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

's cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, Gage played independent baseball with the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the

Constellation Energy League The Constellation Energy League was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas during 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting travel, and as a way to create opportunities for minor league players. History The league consisted of ...

Arizona Diamondbacks

In the offseason Gage played for the

Venados de Mazatlán Venados de Mazatlán ( en, Mazatlán Deer) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. In 2016, the team won the Mexican Pacific League Championship and went on to win their second Caribbean Series ...

of the

Mexican Pacific Winter League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

, and on February 9, 2021, signed with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

organization. Now pitching exclusively as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

, Gage appeared in 43 games split between the Double-A

Amarillo Sod Poodles The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtown ...

and Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

. He posted a combined 4–1 record, 4.14 ERA, and 58 strikeouts in 45 innings.

Toronto Blue Jays

After returning to the Venados in the offseason, Gage signed a minor league contract with the

on November 29, 2021, and was invited to spring training. He began the season with the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, where he went 1–2 with a 1.08 ERA in 16 innings before being called-up. Gage was promoted to the majors for the first time on June 6, 2022, and made his debut that night with a scoreless inning of relief against the Kansas City Royals. Gage made 11 total appearances for Toronto in his rookie campaign, logging a stellar 1.38 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 13.0 innings of work. On January 31, 2023, Gage was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays after the signing of Chad Green was made official. On February 6, Gage placed on release waivers by the Blue Jays.

Houston Astros

On February 13, 2023, Gage was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros. Gage was optioned to the Triple-A

Sugar Land Space Cowboys The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston ...

to begin the 2023 season. On May 2, 2023, Gage was recalled by the Houston Astros after RHP Luis García was added to the 15-day injured list with a right elbow injury.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gage, Matt 1993 births Living people People from Johnstown, New York Baseball players from New York (state) Major League Baseball pitchers Toronto Blue Jays players Houston Astros players Siena Saints baseball players Chatham Anglers players Arizona League Giants players Augusta GreenJackets players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players Las Vegas 51s players Binghamton Rumble Ponies players Sugar Land Skeeters players Eastern Reyes del Tigre players Venados de Mazatlán players Amarillo Sod Poodles players Reno Aces players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Sugar Land Space Cowboys players Diablos Rojos del México players