Tough loss on Saturday. I say that because when the Mets hit three home runs, score five runs, and Matt Harvey is on the mound I expect the team to win. Especially when Harvey retired the first 13 Cleveland batters he faced. Unfortunately for the Mets they took a hard luck 7-5 loss to drop their record to 4-6 through their first ten games.
Honestly, it started to feel like something special was unfolding before our eyes at Progressive Field. Harvey was missing bats and in complete command though 4 1/3 innings. But alas, it all fell apart for Harvey in an instant, as the Indians pounded him for five runs on six hits and three walks before he could register the next four outs.
Harvey’s day was done after 5 2/3 innings, and for the third straight start he allowed 3+ runs for the first time in his career. His record drops to 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA, but the most concerning metrics might be his 4.7 K/9 rate and 3.6 BB/9 – a far cry from his career norms of 9.3 and 2.0 respectively.
“Nobody’s more frustrated right now than I am,” a dejected Harvey said after the game. “Not just today, but the last couple of starts. I think there’s a lot of things that went wrong. There’s a lot more baseball to be played, which is good. Obviously I have to redraw things up tomorrow and get back after it. Like I said, nobody’s more disappointed than I am.”
It was interesting to hear what pitching coach Dan Warthen had to say, telling reporters that Harvey is “pressing” and that he’s fallen back into some bad habits. “Basically, he’s trying to throw hard,” Warthen said.
“We worked on it the last bullpen,” Warthen said. “Still, you get into a pressure situation, you do fall back into bad habits. This has been Matt’s biggest bugaboo since I’ve had him — being able to stay up. He’s trying to be quick to home plate. We’re trying to give our catchers a chance to throw out base stealers. In doing so, he collapses the back side and ends up pushing a lot of baseballs, or spiking them.” (ESPN New York)
Manager Terry Collins was at a loss for words. “He’s cruising along, and all of a sudden it just disappears fast,” Collins said. “That’s on my mind a little bit. I’ve seen it with guys, but not guys of his caliber.”
It’s been a strange start to the season so far. You have a dozen or so top of the rotation starters struggling to get into a groove, so this isn’t limited to just Matt Harvey. Adam Wainwright, Zack Greinke, Jose Fernandez and Shelby Miller all have an ERA that is north of 5.00 – and that’s just the guys in the NL.
I’m not making excuses for Harvey, but I’m willing to bet he’ll get sorted out and back to pitching at the same high level we’ve come to expect from him in short order. In other words, I’m not ready to start freaking out just yet.
