NEW YORK -- Right-hander Jake Arrieta was not happy to hear that the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw was placed on the disabled list because of a back injury, and on Saturday he will get a chance to pitch in front of the person who will decide who starts for the National League team in the All-Star Game.
On Thursday, Mets manager Terry Collins, who will manage the NL team, said there are five legitimate names to be considered for the honor. Arrieta is one of them.
"It would be great, it would be an honor," Arrieta said on Thursday. "Most important for me is my start Saturday and four days after that. If it happens it'd be something special."
The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, Arrieta is second in the Majors with 12 wins and fourth with a 2.10 ERA. Kershaw leads all pitchers with a 1.79 ERA and is followed by the Giants' Madison Bumgarner (1.99) and Arrieta's teammate, Jon Lester (2.03).
"A guy of his caliber, who's capable of what he is, it's never good to see somebody like that go down," Arrieta said of Kershaw. "I enjoy watching him pitch. Hopefully, he's still able to partake in [the All-Star Game].
"When your name is floated around for something like that, it's something special. Whether I do or not, I think the focus is still to play [the Mets] for four games and move on home and try to finish the break on a positive note. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
The last time Arrieta faced the Mets, he took the loss in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, which the Mets swept.
"It's a new year, different team, different circumstances," he said.