Harvey Dominant As Mets Shutout Phillies
The biggest question mark going into the 2018 season for the Mets was if Matt Harvey lost his stuff or could he channel the Dark Knight of old? If Tuesday night was a preview of things to come, it looks like Batman has returned. Harvey was brilliant in his 5 innings of work as the Mets shut out the Philadelphia Phillies tonight 2-0. Harvey only gave up 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 5.
Despite the good perfomance, Harvey did not factor into the decision. Instead Jerry Blevins got the win, despite pitching to one batter in which whom he got out. Seth Lugo, who was supposed to start tonight had the game not gotten postponed last night, was also dominant in his 2 inning of work while picking up his first hold. Lugo struck out 4 batters without allowing a baserunner. Jeurys Familia picked up his second save despite giving up a walk and a hit in the 9th inning.
The top batter for the Mets was Todd Frazier. Frazier went 2-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Frazier is batting ..286 with 4 RBIs. Travis d'Arnaud went 1-3 as well with an RBI.
Both teams were very quiet during the first 5 innings as the bats played similar to the weather. It seemed the hitter were cold and damp. However in the top of the 6th with AJ Ramos pitching, the Phillies had the first threat after Cesar Hernandez reached on a bunt single down to third to lead off. Carlos Santana then drew a walk. However, Ramos got Aaron Altherr to line out to Frazier at third, and then he got Rhys Hoskins to strike out swinging.
Mets manager then made the call to the bullpen to the lefty Blevins. Odubel Herrera then popped out to Frazier to end the inning. With that, Blevins would be in line for a win if the Mets scored in the bottom half of the 6th.
In their half of the 6th, Phillies starting pitcher Ben Lively hit Yoenis Cespedes with a pitch to lead off the inning. With the shift on, Jay Bruce grounded out to shortstop J.P. Crawford which allowed Cespedes to go to 2nd since the ball was hit to the right side. Frazier then hit a double in the left center gap to score Cespedes and give the Mets a 1-0 lead. After Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to short, d'Arnaud laced a single to center to score Frazier and give the Mets a 2-0 lead.
The Phillies had one last chance in the top of the 9th off Familia. Altherr drew a walk to lead off. After Hoskins struck out, Herrera singled to right to put runners on the corners with just one out. However, Familia got Scott Kingery to foul out to the substituted first baseman Wilmer Flores. Familia then got pinch hitter Andrew Knapp to ground out to Frazier to end the game and give the Mets their first shut out of the season.
With the win, the Mets improved to 3-1 and are only a 1/2 game behind the Washington Nationals for first place in the NL East. Both teams are now tied in the loss column after the Nats took their first loss of the season to the Atlanta Braves tonight. Braves are only a 1/2 game behind the Mets. Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins and Phillies are 2 games behind the Mets.
In other news, reliever Hansel Robles was recalled from AAA Las Vegas after the Mets placed reliever Anthony Swarzak on the 10-day DL. Swarzak's MRI revealed he had a mild to moderate oblique strain. The good news is that Michael Conforto will be ready to go on Thursday against the Washington Nationals. Jason Vargas threw a 65 pitch simulated game on Monday and will pitch another simulated game this weekend. Vargas is expected to come off the DL sometime in mid-April as he still cannot field his position. The game that got postponed yesterday will be made up as part of a doubleheader on July 9th.
Tomorrow, the Mets play the finale of this weather shortened 2 game series with the Phillies. Noah Syndergaard will get his 2nd start of the season as he will be opposed by Aaron Nola. The game will be broadcast normally on the radio at 710am WOR and 1050am ESPN Deportes. However, the only was to watch the game tomorrow will be on Facebook on the MLB page as this is something Major League Baseball is trying new this year.
