The pre-game buzz was Matt Harvey being a growing hot property and Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay on a downhill slide. Both bandwagons got a little more crowded Monday night as Harvey was superb as his Mets pounded Halladay, 7-2. The Mets also received big nights from John Buck and Ruben Tejada in winning their third straight game.
ON THE MOUND: Harvey gave up a run in seven innings, giving up three hits and striking out nine to win his second start and lower his ERA to 0.64. With bullpen worked hard for 4.2 innings Sunday, the Mets received the innings they needed from Harvey. Harvey has struck out 89 in his first 12 starts.
AT THE PLATE: Buck hit a three-run homer in the second and the Mets never looked back. … Tejada hit a two-run single in the fifth when the Mets broke the game open. … David Wright and Lucas Duda also drove in droves. … Daniel Murphy doubled twice.
METS MUSINGS: Manager Terry Collins said Aaron Laffey could be in the rotation indefinitely. His next start will be a week from Tuesday at Colorado. … Shaun Marcum threw today in Port St. Lucie, but Collins said he’s not close to pitching in a game. … Also not close is reliever Frank Francisco. Collins said he must twice throw in consecutive games to prove he’s ready.
Thoughts from Joe D.
Wow, what a game and what a start to Matt Harvey‘s season – he’s already 2-0. We have something very special here and even guys like Ron Darling and Bobby Ojeda are amazed. Tonight, Bobby-O said, “Harvey has everyone that has seen him pitch in awe.”
Harvey now has a 0.64 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 14 innings this season.
John Buck has been a revelation and now has a mind boggling 12 RBIs in seven games – that is an incredible pace. Obviously it won’t last, but at this point is it a stretch that he’ll have a 20 home run season with 80 RBIs? That begs the question, what about Travis d’Arnaud Honestly, I have no idea. Buck is the second highest paid player on the team after David Wright, and if he keeps getting great starts out of our rotation and continues to hit like this, d’Arnaud will not push him to the bench this season.
Daniel Murphy is going to have a breakthrough season with his new focus on driving the ball and not hitting everything to the opposite field. Collins told him he wants him to pull the ball more and so far it’s looking like a stroke of genius.
Crazy thought of the day? The Mets have beaten Halladay and got a win against him for the first time since 2001. Umm.. That’s sick….
Hey, the Mets are 5-2. Yes it’s April, but who cares, they are playing fun and exciting baseball and anything can happen.
