Right-hander Matt Harvey started Game 3 of the NLDS on a wild and raucous Monday night at Citi Field as the Mets out-slugged the Dodgers 13-7. Harvey labored through five innings of work, however his final numbers were much better than they looked.
The Dark Knight allowed three second inning runs, only two of which were earned, on four singles – none of which were hit really hard. He allowed just three hits the rest of the way while striking out seven Dodgers.
“He didn’t have his quality stuff but gave us five quality innings,” Terry Collins said. “He had to work hard the entire night to make his pitches. He was deep in counts, he was falling behind, he was missing targets, and that’s what you had to do. He had to go out there and battle and he kept us in the game.”
It wasn’t exactly the start Harvey envisioned for himself in his first shot in the postseason, but he was able to battle through some command struggles and earned his first playoff win.
“He was bound and determined that they weren’t scoring again,” Collins said. “After the second inning, he said, ‘That’s all they’re getting.'”
Harvey, who may have struggled due to the extended rest, being a creature of habit. was able to do enough to keep his team in the game until the Mets offense completely exploded and put up some crooked numbers.
“It was definitely a battle,” Harvey said. “It was not ideal to be giving up runs like that that early in the game, or any runs at all, but I think obviously, the offense came up big, and it really picked me up when I needed help.”
Harvey was able to focus on the game and not worry about the Chase Utley saga while fans were blood thirsty for revenge. He had high praise for the fans and appreciated the loud boos they gave Utley when the announced the players before the game.
“They were electric. And I think they definitely were the tenth man, as you could say, for us, and you know, I know the offense definitely fed off of their emotions, and there’s not much you can say, that they were awesome from pitch one.”
And as Harvey pointed out, there is no better retaliation than winning. For a night, Harvey didn’t need to talk about his innings limit or his pitch count. It was all about one thing, winning.
