HARVEY DAZZLES AGAIN!!!
On the strength of a scintillating performance by ace Matt Harvey backed by three home runs, the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 5-0 this afternoon at a sun-drenched Citi Field.
Harvey dominated the Phillies all day and held them to just three hits and never letting a batter advance past second base. His fastball hit triple digits on a few occasions and stayed in the 98-99 mph range all day. Batters were overmatched by his heat as well as his biting curve and slider. Harvey struck out the side in both the third and fifth innings and totaled ten Ks in his seven scoreless innings of work. It was his sixth double-digit strikeout game of the season and eighth of his career. Amazing…
Recently activated reliever Scott Atchison, slammed the door behind Harvey with two more scoreless innings to complete the shutout.
The Mets scored all five runs on a pair of back-to-back homers by Marlon Byrd and David Wright in the first inning, and then Juan Lagares had the big blast – a three-run homer in the fourth, his second of the season. Byrd now has 17 home runs for the season, while Wright is two behind with 15 dingers.
Lagares has turned it on since Collins has given him some semi-regular playing time and he is batting .387 in his last 11 games with nine ribbies. Lagares matched a career high with three RBIs and it comes on the heels of Saturday’s three-hit performance.
I am running out of great things to say about Matt Harvey. It was amazing to see the standing ovation he received as he walked off the mound. He continues to rollover the competition like a bulldozer and has become an unstoppable force when he takes the mound. Just looking at the expressions on the faces of the batters he strikes out, and watching their knees buckle is a sight to behold. His performance today lowered his ERA to 2.23 for the season – good enough for the third in the National League. He leads the NL with 157 strikeouts and has only walked 27.
Harvey also set a new franchise record today and surpassed Jerry Koosman (2.39) for lowest ERA (2.38) through 30 games (minimum 100 innings).
Harvey has become a game-changer for this franchise. Since Harvey's promotion, all arrows have been pointing up for the Mets. It feels good.
— Metsmerized – Joe D (@MetsmerizedJoeD) July 21, 2013
On Monday, the Mets will host the first-place Atlanta Braves for four games. Dillon Gee (7-7, 4.32 ERA) opposes right-hander Julio Teheran (7-5, 3.35) and first pitch is at 7:10 PM.
