The resurgence for Matt Harvey continued Friday night in the Mets’ 2-1 extra-innings win over the Milwaukee Brewers. For the third consecutive start, Harvey was on point.
In six innings, Harvey allowed just one run on two hits. He was masterful in another quality start where he walked two and struck out eight batters while tossing 98 pitches.
Harvey took the no-decision on the night, keeping his record at 4-8 on the season. However it was another big win for the Mets in more ways than one as Harvey looks to be out of the woods and back to his normal dominant self.
“The fastball obviously wasn’t coming out as good as it has been the last couple of starts,” Harvey said. “I pretty much had everything else working and I was able to keep them off-balance and get us through six innings.”
“Last start, only striking out two or three, you kind of think, ‘What’s going on?’ Today I was able to put them away when I needed to.” (ESPN)
His changeup was near impossible to hit last night, keeping opposing batters off balance throughout his six innings of work. He looked to be in midseason form and looked to quell any lingering concerns.
At a time where the offense has continued to struggle, manager Terry Collins is happy to see his rotation begin to take shape.
“Matty was really, really good,” Collins said. “He just ran out of a little gas. We are certainly on the upside with that. It’s good to see. … Even though he wasn’t 97, 98, he threw the fastball up. His slider was good tonight. His changeup, later in the game, got real good.”
“You saw a lot of swings and misses on his changeup. I’ll tell you, his confidence is really starting to come back. We’re heading into the warm months. And it’s nice to know our pitching staff is starting to round into shape.”
Harvey, 27, lowered his ERA yet again, now down to 4.66 from 6.08 just four starts ago. His WHIP has dropped from 1.69 to 1.38 in that same time period. Over his last three starts in 20 innings pitched he has allowed just two runs on eight hits and in that span he has struck out 21 batters.
The Dark Knight is back. The persona, the confidence, it is all there. Maybe a little more humble than he once was, but it is good to see Harvey throwing like the ace who had taken over Queens in 2012.
