Matt Harvey may want to sit out the sixth inning of the next New York Mets game, because in both of his starts this season, it was this pivotal inning where the pitcher was hit hard by the opposing team. Today, it was the Philadelphia Phillies, who were already a run ahead by the sixth inning when they added two more to their score and ultimately won the rubber-game match 5-2 to take the three-game series 2-1.
The New York Mets couldn’t seem to get anything started in the last two games against their rivals. Matt Harvey, who hasn’t quite been himself – if you listen to Keith Hernandez in the Mets broadcasting booth anyway – did start the game a little more settled than he has been — and retired 9 in a row up until the top of the fifth inning when Odubel Herrara pounded a two-run homer over the left field wall. The Phillies added an insurance run in the eighth and another in the ninth inning to seal the deal and win the series.
The broadcasters also noted a few times that the New York Mets, who are now 2-3 in their first five games, started out the 2015 season the same way. Then, as we all know, they rallied for 11 wins in a row. Of course, we also know how they fared at the end of last year, with a trip to the World Series. We also know that they fell short of a World Series ring, but hope to change that this year. To do that, those bats are going to have to make some noise – especially against a team that’s struggling as much as the Philadelphia Phillies – but in the last two games their bats have been quiet. Today, there were only four hits – two by David Wright and two by Yoenis Cespedes.
It was only Cespedes who made a little more noise with a two-run homer in the sixth inning after getting pieces of 10 pitches to stay alive before his blast. It was his first homerun of the season and the New York Mets first homerun of the season in Citi Field, but that’s all the Mets hitters could accomplish as they have now scored three or fewer runs for the fourth time in five games this season.
David Wright is quoted as saying, “These past couple days, they pitched better than us. They hit better than us. They did everything better than us, and it shows in the win-loss column.”
He also said, “It goes to show you that you don’t need to get off to that incredibly fast start to be successful. We would like to do that. It sounds like I’m making excuses. We’d love to get off to the fast start. We haven’t. But once we put it all together, I think we can be that type of team that can start winning some series, start putting together some winning streaks.”
Harvey gets the loss and goes 0-2 on the season so far.
Some positive notes — Mets reliever Jim Henderson struck out the side in the seventh. The former Brewers closer has retired all nine batters he has faced this season, seven of them via strikeouts.
The Mets will also bench daddy-to-be Jacob deGrom and his turn in the rotation due to lingering right lat pain. Right-hander Logan Verrett will make a start instead.
The Miami Marlins come into town on Monday to face the Mets. One of the National League’s leading Rookie of the Year candidates, left-handed pitcher Steven Matz, will debut Monday, after going unused last week out of the bullpen in Kansas City. Matz gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings last year in his lone start against the Marlins. The Mets will face right-handed Marlins pitcher, Jarred Cosart, who suffered from vertigo – an inner ear disorder – last year. He was also demoted to Triple-A after making just 13 starts and barely logging in 70 innings.
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