Mets-Phillies in Philadelphia: Matt Harvey Hits 100 with His Fastball, 92 with His Slider, and Ropes with His Bat Today

By Nicholas Stix

Following a brief rain delay, the Mets are at bat with one out in the eighth inning at Citizens’ Bank Park, leading the Phillies 7-0.

The Mets are looking the way the Phils usually do, and vice versa. The Mets were winning 1-0, opening the top of the fifth, when Mets rookie centerfielder Juan Lagares led off by hitting a deep, lazy fly to his Phillies counterpart, Ben Revere, who “styled.” Revere refused to catch the ball with two hands, and dropped it, before he had possession, and before he could make the transfer. Lagares ran all the way, though he slowed down at one point, and made it to third. Instead of being ashamed of himself for hurting his team, Revere was outraged at the ump for enforcing the rules. (Since Revere is Hispanic, the Mets’ announcers were careful to cover themlseves, by speculating that Revere had probably gotten away with doing the same thing 1,000 times wihout dropping the ball, and that the umps ususally didn't call such errors.)

The Mets then hit three consecutive doubles, including a ball off the scoreboard in right center by Harvey (6-1, 2.14) for an RBI, and broke the game open against Phillies starter John Lannan.

Harvey was consistently hitting 96 and above on the radar gun, and as the game wore on, was regularly hitting 98 and above.

After the rain delay, David Wright went up against Phillies reliever Joe Savery with one out in the seventh and hit a ball to dead center that almost left the park, for a triple. Marlon Byrd then knocked in Wright with another ball almost as deep to dead center that Revere caught up to, only to let the ball glance off his glove. The umps took pity on Revere, and scored it a double.

Mets’ skipper Terry Collins replaced Matt Harvey with LaTroy Hawkins in the seventh. Although Harvey had only thrown 72 stress-free pitches through six, and the rain delay had been brief, the Mets are trying to find ways to limit his innings, so as to prevent another Johan Santana disaster. Harvey was on a pace to throw at least 225 innings. Hawkins responded with a 1-2-3 seventh. The Mets are just coming to bat in the top of the eighth.