After a tumultous start to the season, Matt Harvey put forth the best start of his season against the Chicago White Sox on Monday. Seven scoreless innings, two hits and six strikeouts, you could not have asked for a better start in a high-pressure situation. The road gets no easier for Harvey as he looks to take his next step forward towards redemption as he will be opposed by Jose Fernandez and the Marlins.
A big test for Harvey comes Sunday against one of the best pitchers in the game today in Fernandez. Harvey currently sits with a 4-7 record while sporting a 5.37 ERA. His WHIP currently stands at 1.54. Manager, Terry Collins knows that this will be no easy feat for his pitcher as he looks to continue his resurgence.
“There are stepping stones, and [Sunday] is a huge challenge with what [Harvey] has got to do, but you can’t worry about who they are pitching. He’s got to worry about what he’s doing,” Collins said. “If he goes out and pitches his game, we’ll be in good shape because he’s got great stuff. This is not a place he’s had great success, pitching here, so he’s got to get over that and get out and make his pitches.” (NY Post)
In his career against the Marlins, Harvey sits with a 2-2 record while sporting a 3.48 ERA in the seven games he started against their division rival. Specifically at Marlins Park, Harvey is 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in four starts. Pitching coach, Dan Warthen believes that Harvey’s struggles have been solved and all is back to normal for his star pitcher.
“He’s been throwing his bullpens the same way as we saw in his last game,” Warthen said.. “Finally, he took it to the game.” (Newsday)
Harvey and Fernandez share the fact that both had undergone Tommy John surgery and endured the uphill battle of getting back to their pre-surgery performances. For Harvey, it had been believed that pitching a career-high 216 innings last season may have taken its toll on the pitcher in his first season post-surgery. All on the Mets side and Harvey himself have advised that this was not a physical issue but a mechanical one that ailed him. One he is said to have now solved.
“I think he actually learned a lot about himself,” Warthen said. “I think that he let himself get way too far down before he came back up. But I think it’s been a great lesson.”
Harvey will look to take that next step on his road to redemption as the Mets go for the sweep in Miami in Sunday’s afternoon finale. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM.
