With Zack Wheeler departing from his start against the St. Louis Cardinals after the fourth inning, the Mets decided to turn the ball over to Matt Harvey for his first relief appearance in 2018.
His first appearance had mixed results as he showed both flashes of an effective reliever, as well as the shades of grey that have marked the last few years of his career since he got surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
In the fifth, Harvey got Marcell Ozuna to ground out and struck out Yadier Molina for the first two outs of the inning before running into trouble. Dexter Fowler hit a double off a fastball before Paul DeJong followed suit with one of his own to put the Mets behind 5-4.
Harvey was able to strike out Kolten Wong to end the inning without letting the damage get any worse.
He then went out for the sixth and was able to record the first two outs before walking Tommy Pham. However, he got Jose Martinez to ground out to Asdrubal Cabrera to end the inning.
Harvey received a no-decision as the Mets managed to tie the game in the top of the eight.
The 29-year old, in total, pitched two innings (35 pitches) while allowing one run, two hits, and one walk. He also struck out two. His season ERA went down to 5.87 on the year.
His fastball sat mostly between 93-94 MPH, while he topped out in his second inning of work at 95 MPH.
Mickey Callaway was happy with his appearance tonight as well.
“He threw the ball well. He got two quick outs and then gave up back-to-back doubles, but his stuff was crisp. He kept the ball down and, to me, he looked like he was out there challenging hitters and attacking.”
However, Harvey declined to speak to reporters after the game.
Jay Bruce, instead, answered a question regarding the right-hander, as Tim Healey of Newsday details, and seemed to just want the best for him.
“All I want for Matt is the best. I think he can help and I think he can be an asset to our team. I just want him to feel like he’s getting better and improving.”
