Matt Harvey gave his all with his back against the wall

Matt Harvey tossed a four-hit shutout through eight innings. However, in the ninth inning, at 102 pitches, he allowed a leadoff walk and an RBI double to Eric Hosmer, who eventually scored the tying run later in the inning.

“I wanted the ball because I felt great,” Harvey said. “I felt I could go out there and get the last three outs.”

Harvey struck out nine batters and allowed five hits, throwing 216 innings in his first year back from Tommy John surgery. After he walked off the mound in the eighth inning, manager Terry Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen told Harvey he was done for the night. He responded, “No way,” according to Collins, who gave in and sent Harvey out for the ninth inning.

“When you looked in this kid’s eyes, when he came off that inning, and I mean, he’s been through a tough summer, he’s been beaten down, and I just trusted him,” Collins said. “I said, ‘You got it. You’ve earned this. So go get ’em.’ So it’s my fault. It’s not his.”

Harvey struck out the side in the fourth inning, shouting emotionally as he walked off the mound early, but after surrendering Hosmer’s double, walked off dejected.

“I poured my heart out, I gave everything I had, and unfortunately tonight, it wasn’t quite good enough,” Harvey said.

Matthew Cerrone
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | About Me

I’m sure Harvey feels like he failed. He didn’t. He was terrific and, for eight innings, everything the Mets needed last night. He may feel incomplete, but he has nothing to be ashamed of because it was an incredible, gutsy, timely performance.

I love that he wanted to go back out for the ninth inning. I appreciate his passion, that’s what I want to see in him. However, that should not dictate the manager’s decision. Collins should always do what’s best for the overall team, especially in a deciding game, and not look to reward a single person when so much is on the line. On the other hand, based on what he had done to that point, I’m OK with him going back out there. The difference is I’m saying he should have been out there because I think he had a good chance of getting the necessary three outs, not because his ego earned it.

Once he walks the leadoff batter, he has to come out. Collins later said he left Harvey in because it would have made no sense to have him go out there to throw to just one guy. Actually, what doesn’t sense is using that as the reason to leave him in. If suddenly you think the pitcher is out of gas, for whatever reason, at any point, then he’s out of gas, make the switch and get him out of there. Instead, Collins left him in, Harvey threw a meaty, 94-mph four-seam fastball to Hosmer, who is a great fastball hitter and amazing with runners on base, and he roped it – hard – for a double… and then Jeurys Familia came in.

Harvey walked off the mound to a positive response. The crowd cheered, but it was not the unbridled roar he and we were hoping for when he initially went back out to pitch. I’m sure he envisioned himself, as did the crowd, walking off the mound and pumping his fist after finishing a complete game win, which would have been considered a classic World Series start and the best performance of his life. Instead, though noble and certainly still successful, he fell a tad short because Familia and his infielders couldn’t hold it down.

---

Comment

from Metsblog http://ift.tt/1RJtSJP