New York Mets ace (in theory, anyway) Matt Harvey is off to a rough start this season, pitching to a 4.76 ERA and a 2-4 record in 34 innings. On Tuesday night, Harvey allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking two in a 3-0 loss to the Braves. Harvey hasn’t gone past the sixth inning in any start this year, and has struck out more than five batters in just one start.
After the loss to the Braves, a frustrated Harvey spoke to the media and blamed his struggles on his mechanics on the mound.
“I’m giving up more hits, more runs — kind of everything — more than I ever have,” Harvey said after Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. “Obviously, it’s frustrating. I’ve got to keep working.”
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“Right now, I’m not feeling good with my mechanics. I’m not feeling good throwing the ball,” Harvey said. “It’s frustrating. I think I’ve said it before: I’m the one who is most frustrated here about what’s going on. It’s been a frustrating start, but we have a long way to go.”
Harvey’s fastball velocity has dropped this season – the 95.12 average four-seam velocity this April was his lowest in any calendar month recorded by Brooks Baseball (the July 2011 data point is from the Futures Game at Chase Field). However, the Mets’ ace shot down the possibility that his high workload last year is affecting him this year, and also brought up the possibility of working too much in between starts.
“I don’t think so,” Harvey said. “I hadn’t really looked into that. My body doesn’t feel bad. I don’t feel tired. I don’t feel any downside from the workload last year. I think it’s, right now, I’m just in a little funk with my mechanics. We’re working to get rid of that.”
Harvey’s struggles have not come from a lack of work between starts.
“I’m putting in so much work during the week that maybe I’m doing too much. Maybe I’m not,” Harvey said. “At this point, there’s a lot of questions and a lot of answers I’m kind of looking for. I’m out there feeling for every pitch, and it’s frustrating. I’m going through one of those times right now where everything feels different. Being on the mound, it’s tough. … I’ve looked at so much video that there’s only so much you can look at. You’ve just got to find it, and it starts tomorrow.”
We’re obviously still dealing with a small sample size here, and things will eventually turn around for Harvey, but his struggles have to be discouraging for the Mets. Four of their nine losses this season have come in games started by Harvey.
Luckily for the team, their pitching staff hasn’t missed a beat despite Harvey’s struggles. Jacob deGrom has a 1.02 ERA in three starts. Noah Syndergaard has a 2.51 ERA in five starts and has a 44:6 strikeout to walk ratio. Bartolo Colon’s ERA is 2.56 in 31 2/3 innings, and he’s walked just three hitters all season. The bullpen’s 2.79 ERA is second in the National League, behind only the Cubs.
Imagine what this pitching staff will look like if Harvey pitches like he’s capable of. That 1.5 game lead for the Nationals in the NL East may not be long for this world.
[ESPN]
