Matt Harvey was simply sick of the trend.
He had allowed 11 earned runs in his last 12 innings, three of which coming via the home run. He was 0-2 during what was arguably the most difficult stretch of his career to date.
Of course, his last start looked a lot worse on paper than it did on the field. Three of the four runs he allowed last Friday against Miami came courtesy of a Justin Bour three-run home run. He was otherwise splendid for those eight innings.
Still, Harvey demanded a change, both for himself and the team on Thursday night in Arizona.
“I was sick of giving up runs and losing,’’ Harvey said Thursday night. “I kind of got angry that my last couple of starts weren’t very good. And I think I needed to put an end to that. I started getting a little bit more aggressive. … I didn’t want to let the team down again.”
“For me, it was more of an anger than anything.”
So, as Harvey seemingly has the ability to do all by himself, he stopped the losing. He earned his sixth win of the year allowing two runs on six hits with a walk and nine strikeouts in Phoenix on Thursday night.
The two runs came via two solo home runs – one to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the second inning and the other to Paul Goldschmidt in the sixth inning.
It didn’t come easy for Harvey early. He was clearly having trouble getting comfortable, he was struggling with the command of his fastball and slider, missing well out of the zone at times. His pitches also lacked the zip and electricity he normally has.
But those problems lasted a whole 2 1/3 innings. He kicked it into gear in the third inning by striking out Goldschmidt and Yasmany Tomas consecutively to end the inning, the first of five consecutive strikeouts for Harvey.
“I think I was looking for [my] mechanics early in the game,” Harvey explained of his early problems. “I was kind of all over the place.”
Beginning with that strikeout to Goldschmidt, he was clearly different. His fastball seemed to have renewed life, and he all of a sudden found the command of both his curveball and slider and was able to control them perfectly on both corners.
That’s the Matt Harvey the industry is accustomed to seeing.
“As a competitor, it was something I wanted to stop and we were able to put up some runs,” He said.
A lot of the runs Harvey has given up have come via the home run. Five of the eight home runs he’s allowed this season have come in his last three starts.
That’s a little concerning because he’s already exceed the total number of home runs he allowed in 178 innings in 2013, and it’s a sign he’s lacking consistent command and life on his pitches lately.
Then again, it’s always unfair to hold Harvey on that 2013 pedestal. What he did that season was so unique and historic, that even if he wasn’t coming off Tommy John Surgery it would be difficult to repeat.
Still, he’s been nothing short of magnificent in his first 11 starts and 73 2/3 innings since Tommy John Surgery. He’s 6-3 with a 3.05 ERA with only 12 walks and 80 strikeouts this season.
And, if Harvey’s angry, that’s even better news for the Mets.
Just Mets 