29
2012
Matt Harvey Strong, Duda Goes Deep In 3-2 Win Against Phillies
An article by 
Matt Harvey, without having his best stuff still had a quality start against the Phillies, thanks to some key offensive contributions from Lucas Duda
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Matt Harvey came out of the gate throwing his fastball often, and about as hard as Mets fans have seen in during this 2012 season. Harvey hit 99 MPH at least 5 times, and utilize that fastball for two strikeouts looking. Harvey’s final line would be six and one-third innings pitched, six hits, two runs allowed, two walks and six strikeouts. Harvey couldn’t consistently get his breaking ball to hit spots, but with gas like Harvey has sometimes it’s enough to get away with
The bullpen consisted of a four-man bridge, starting with a clean two-thirds of an inning by Josh Edgin, followed by another clean two-thirds of an inning from Robert Carson. Jon Rauch would come out for one-third, continuing his strong run in the bullpen since June. Frank Francisco came out for the ninth, and struck out two batters for his 22nd save of the season.
The bullpen has been good for the last week or so, and with reinforcements due in a few days, guys like Josh Edgin should be getting a little bit of a break and saved for high-leverage situations.
Offensively, the Mets struck early and had a lot of hits off of Phillies rookie starter Tyler Cloyd. Matt Harvey notched an RBI single in the first to put the Mets on the board. Lucas Duda put across two more on a long home run to right field in the third to put the Mets up for good. After the sixth however, the Mets hitters quieted down and only managed one hit and one walk in the next three innings.
Game Notes
Tejada, Murphy and Wright went 1 for 15 with four strikeouts. The struggle continues for David, and whether this is fatigue or just altering his swing is to be decided.
Scott Hairston played CF today with Andres Torres struggling, and went 1 for 3 with a walk, a strikeout and a hard-hit double. Hairston looks to be a valuable part of the 2013 Mets – for the right price.
Ike Davis was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Davis is hitting .228 on the season, which is a long way from July 3rd, which is the last time he was below .200.
Game Ball: Matt Harvey and Lucas Duda split the game ball for two solid performances. Lucas went 2 for 2 with a two-run homer, a stolen base and a good play in the outfield to save runs.
On Deck: The Mets finish the series with Philadelphia, sending Jonathon Niese to the mound against Kyle Kendrick. Game time is 1:10 P.M.
About the Author: Sean Kenny
Sean Kenny is a student/writer currently attending school at the City College of New York. For more Mets news, notes and thoughts follow him on twitter @TheSeanKenny
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Duda, Duda, Duda, Duda! It’s the “Duda factor” baby, 4 in a row since his return. Yeah!
Zippidy Do da had everthing going his way.
Totally Dude-A! If he’s in the line-up, the Mets just seem to have more of a chance. Perhaps it’s his hulky size, or the occasional blast? And when he started slumping, the rest of the team slumped.
I remember the Mets biggest problem when they were winning was facing lefty starters, which coincided with either Lucas not starting, or not hitting lefties well enough.
Does anyone have the Mets record when he’s been in the starting lineup?
Man Oh Man, pitching has ben pretty sparkling for more than a week now.
Bullpen–14.1 scoreless innings–KUDOS!
Nice job by Harvey with some help from Duda making that nice catch of the ball hit off Howard’s bat.
Nice game by Duda overall. Also nice job by the pen looking forward to seeing Edgin continue to hopefully develop and pitch well next season. I also would not mind bringing Rauch back who has now since June 12th including tonight in 32 games has pitched to a record of 0-1, 2/S, 10/H, 1.16/ERA, .111/BAA, 23.1/IP, 12 Inherited runners 0 Inherited runners scored.
The offense still is a problem having only scored 3 runs but 1 coming off the bat of Harvey. Tejada, Murphy and Wright went 1 for 15.
Niese on the hill in a day game tomorrow as the Mets go for the sweep.
Hopefully Niese can shut the Phils down.
I said swear liberals well. Pitching in NY isn’t always easy and I think Rauch has the make up for it. I would love to dump FF and go with co-closers in Edgin and Rauch next year. That could allow you to spend some funds on a hitter.
Hi Sean,
With the possibility of Davis/Duda doing for us in 2013 what we expected from them in 2012 might be reason for Sandy to consider negotiating a higher contract for Hairston to stay along with retaining the services of Rauch too. Bay I think will be gone leaving left field all to Lucas with Hairston getting a lot of playing time. That leaves one more outfield position up for grabs.
with Harvey from the beginning, the Mets have a young rotation of Matt, Gee and Parnell to go along with Dickey. At least for the beginning of the season the Mets can count on Santana and who knows, maybe a returning Pelfrey (if he’s not released) to carry on the fifth spot in the rotation. Wheeler might or not might be ready next season. We need a lot of help with the bullpen even if it has been sound of late.
Next season could be a turn-around year for us. Though it depends a lot on Duda and Davis it also depends upon the Mets making an honest attempt to become a contender by spending money on good players who are not reaching the end of the line to convince Wright and Dickey that it would be worth it to them to stay here. Otherwise, if all we are going to be in store for is another round of inexpensive players to fill those gaps, then it’s eventually bye bye David and R.A. and another round of “sell the team, sell the team”.
With help to patch up our outfield and bullpen holes
**** of course, I meant Matt, Gee and Niese in the rotation, not Parnell. The jury is still out on Bobby and his role in the bullpen.
7 wins at CBP this season. Something we haven’t done in 40 years.
Makes my night. It’s the little things…..
Hi srt,
The real reason we haven’t won seven games at Citizens Bank Park the past 40 years is that it only opened up nine seasons ago.
Just teasing ya….
In fairness. Gary Cohen did say the City of Philadelphia.
Shoot….y’all know I meant Philadelphia. My bad.
Well, sometimes you don’t know what you have until you lose it.. Thank you omar minaya for matt harvey, the kid will be a monster for years to come.. Out of the BIG 3 i did say Harvey and Familia will become monsters for us, after having a bad year from familia i can say i can live with this kid being the ACE of this team, while other minor leaguers get the TOP 10 prospects hoopla in BA, harvey looks like a man who’s all about business, the way he pitches you would not know he’s a rookie, hell, the way he even interviews is a pleasure to watch..
Guys, we might’ve found our next ACE.
I do hope so and I still think Wheeler has shown great promise. My hope is by this time next year we know exactly what we are building around and it’s two young stud pitchers.
My hope is by this time next year we know exactly what we are building around and it’s two young stud pitchers”
Yep,Familia and HArvey
Boy you sure do have an aversion to Wheeler and I don’t know why
That being said, I haven’t given up on Familia or Mejia in terms of them playing a vital role in the future of the Mets whether it be in the rotation or the pen. However, I think to address the OF needs they may need to trade one of those two in order to get any thing substantial in return. (along with other prospects as well of course).
I do it because it riles up the slurpers. i mean, just because i said wheeler was getting bombed (He looked awesome ast start) in a game i was called a you know what..
Hi Alex,
Don’t worry – I’ve been called ever worse than that!
Really??? Well, it is a shame…
Well at least you are honest that you allow your opinions to be formed based on your reactions to those you don’t like. It takes a big man to admit it.
Listen, my opinions are based on what i see… It has nothing to do with others, if i am wrong about a player i’d be the first one to admit it.. The kid is good and has the stuff, but you can’t help but wonder how he’ll react to the pressure of NY etc..
about 5 years ago i said DW was unclutch, if i wrong i would’ve admitted it, however, we’ve seen how that turned out to be 100% true, this year, better, but still don’t trust the guy.
Sure buddy, there aren’t 100 examples of you forming your opinion based on what you perceive as unfairness in the media. You have even admitted one of the reasons you don’t like Wright is because of how the media portrays him. Real fair. So lets be honest why you love you some Familia and were openly critical anytime Wheeler had a poor game. You just said so yourself.
I love familia for many reasons, the kid is mountain, throws hard, etc, however, i’ve been on record saying how disappointed i am about his play this year, even your buddy MNJ can tell you that, wheeler i say the same thing, he’s a wild wild man, he throws all over the place, his Walk ration is high and should work on that, sure he strikes out a lot of players, but that’s because minor leaguers have less patient etc, if he comes in to the bigs throwing all over the place guess what’s gonna happen? he’s gonna be our next oliver perez, the americ-an version, i may be a “hater” but i am the same hater to everyone, i criticize omar minaya the same way i criticize sandy alderson, i am consistant to say the least, unlike a lot of slurpers here … There’s one idiot here who seem to like everyone outside of the mets org, and if one of the CORE members like a met or a player outside of the org to be brought here, they either suck, send them to the minors, or they’re cancer and are not needed here.. go figure
I don’t care about your dang feud with Jessup so don’t make every post about him. We are talking about something else here. You were NOT on here after every Familia start or appearance and criticizing him after every poor start. Can you say the same about Wheeler? Were you on here every Wheeler start that was good singing his praises? Nope, silent. You said yourself the only reason you were doing it was to rile up others. Well obviously that attitude has helped shape who you are and your opinions towards certain players.
Go back and compare Wheeler’s stats at every level to Harvey’s and see what you get. Harvey had a 4.53 ERA in AA and finished AAA with a 3.68 ERA. I love Harvey and what he has done but I see no reason to not be just as high on Wheeler and certainly not because some other group likes or dislikes him based on some dang Sandy debate or least of all on race as some others have suggested. Wheeler since becoming a Met has a ERA of 3.11 across three different levels with a significantly lower WHIP. In fact Harvey and Wheeler’s BB/9 rates in AAA this year are identical but I don’t seem to recall you saying Harvey was a wild wild man… Both could increase their control but I don’t see why you need to bring one down to bring the other up. That conversation sounds familiar and I hope it doesn’t go the same way as your constant desire to bring Wright down to bring up Reyes.
again, said it riles up the slurpers when i say soemthing about his poor starts, as a reminded that he’s not perfect..
Hi Alex,
The subject of Wheeler hits a nerve with all of us because it is the focus of a most controversial move that Fonzie rules do not permit me to mention. Unfortunately, it has become a matter of Zack being caught in the middle of a brushfire war between two oppposing camps over the bigger issue of Sandy Alderson. If Wheeler is successful then Sandy is and if Wheeler isn’t then Sandy is not.
Whatever the outcome of Zach Wheeler becomes, both camps must recognize that there are way more issues regarding Sandy and that his success or failure – along with the motivation behind his overall actions (rebuilding the Mets or keeping them finanically afloat so the Wilpons can retain ownership) – should be judged in that manner. It might very well be that Sandy could have won the battle with Wheeler but lost the war or vice versa.
My own personal feelings about Wheeler is again him being caught in the crossfire. No matter how hight his ranking, he was only an A-ball pitcher with great stuff but serious control problems. To me, the problem is that when the trade was made those who liked it were already praising the move as if Zack’s future was secure. A friend of mine goes so far as to say he would always sacrifice a season if he thought the team was playing over it’s head in order to get a top prospect.
I just hope the pressure doesn’t get to a point that Wheeler would pitch better away from New York. Way more is expected of him than Harvey – because of the circumstances surrounding his acquisition.
I disagree that more is expected of Wheeler than Harvey. Not in many Mets circles. I would say the pressure on both is immense. And considering Wheeler has out pitched Harvey so far in the minors I see no reason at this point not to have high expectations for both.
I just have one question…..can either Wheeler or Familiar hit like Harvey?
“I just have one question…..can either Wheeler or Familiar hit like Harvey?”
LoL This.
I think Harvey hits better than Bay..
I disagree that more is expected of Wheeler than Harvey”
are you crazy?? Wheeler was traded for an MVP type caliber player, one of the most prolific players in met history, also, he’s the #1 prospect in the org, how can you tell me you disagree with fans expecting more from wheeler? He’d be under microscope every time he takes the mound!
Again Alex, who he was traded for (2 months of Carols Beltran) has nothing to do with what I expect from him. I expect him and Harvey to be the foundation of a young dominant rotation. If either fail we may be in trouble.
Hi Tr,
It might not be you but Zach Wheeler was under scruitiny from day one – unlike Harvey who was signed by the Mets, Zach was obtained under circumstances that angered many Met fans as well as being praised by others calling it a steal by Sandy Alderson.
Michael Fulmer, our first round draft pick in 2011 isn’t getting anything close the scruitiny in A Ball as Wheeler did. There was also many an irate season ticket holder calling up FAN screaming they were not going to renew their plans the following season due to the standings I am not allowed to point out. Some suggested boycotting the team, something I hadn’t heard since Seaver was sent packing.
If Wheeler has the personality to withstand that type of pressure, it will certainly be an asset for when he takes to a major league mound every fifth day.