Matt Harvey made his season debut last night in the cold weather in New York and he looked better than anyone could have expected for his first start of the season.

The right-hander, while struggling to get the velocity up to where he used to (sat between 91-93 MPH with his fastball), was extremely effective as he struck out five batters over his five innings of work while walking one and allowing only one hit. He threw 86 pitches and received a no-decision.

While nobody wants to get too excited about one start, Harvey looked about as good as anyone could have hoped for. He was aggressive, throwing strikes, and attacking hitters in a way reminiscent of his 2013 self.

Travis d’Arnaud, who caught Harvey on the night, came away impressed.

“He’s got that look in his eye back, from when he was dominant,” d’Arnaud said. “Even tonight, he didn’t have his best stuff, but you could tell he was still in it. He wasn’t going to give up. He was going to keep fighting to the end. You could see it: He’s back to what he was before.”

Obviously, the velocity was not there tonight, but it was 34 degrees outside, which would be difficult for anyone to pitch through. Harvey actually lobbied pitching coach Dave Eiland to pitch one more inning, but was told flatly he was done for the night.

If this was a game in the middle of the season, Mickey Callaway might have pushed it and allowed Harvey to go out for the sixth inning, but in his first start of the season, it was not worth the risk of hurting his confidence if he were to struggle.

“He’s been unbelievable throughout spring training,” Callaway said of Harvey. “He’s been a great teammate. He’s worked his tail off and put himself in a position to go out there tonight and pitch a real good game for us. He’s a model citizen, as far as I’m concerned. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

This is a game that, hopefully, Harvey will take in stride and pitch with the confidence and focus he seemed to have throughout the night for the entirety of the 2018 season.

So far so good for Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard, who have combined to allow only five earned runs, 11 hits, and two walks in 16 2/3 innings while striking out 22 batters through their first turn in the rotation.

If those three can continue that line of success for the entirety of the year, this team should be in pretty good shape.

The 29-year old had a good start to his season last night, but he will have a much tougher opponent in his second start as he will face the division-elite Washington Nationals lineup.

Obviously, that lineup is no easy task to contain, but it will be a big test for the right-hander.