On a night with heavy rain in the forecast, Matt Harvey emerged dry as he delivered his best start of the season. He pitched 6.0 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. He threw 102 pitches, 67 of which were strikes.
The only run he allowed came on a Gregory Polanco solo home run, and while I could say that was his only mistake pitch of the night, that depends on how you define a mistake. While, yes, it was the only pitch on which the Pirates could muster a run, Harvey threw many pitches that weren’t particularly close to the strike zone. He still has a ways to go with his command, but tonight was a step in the right direction.
“The last couple starts have been a lot better,” Harvey told reporters after the game. “The biggest part of today was when I did get in trouble and had some runners in scoring position, when I needed that strikeout, like I had in the past, it was there so that was definitely a positive.”
Polanco’s home run came on a slider away, but later in the game, Harvey struck out the Pirates right fielder with the same pitch but in a different location – down and in. It warranted a vintage Harvey fist-pump.
This was the first time Matt Harvey has allowed one run or fewer in a start since June 28, 2016. He lowered his ERA to 4.95 and improves to 4-3 on the season with the win. More importantly, though, Harvey seemed to pitch with the confidence and swagger we haven’t seen from him in a long time.
