Game Recap: Matt Harvey Has Historic Debut as Mets Beat Dbacks 3-1

The losing streak is finally over! We’ll see if it carries over into tonight’s ballgame, but it was all about Matt Harvey last night, who was making his MLB debut in Arizona. Harvey dominated the Dbacks in his performance, and this was exactly the type of energy New York needed to try and start moving on from their horrible start to the second half of the season.

Mets Offensive Highlights:

New York was able to get on board in the top of the first against Wade Miley, as Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy successfully set the table by leading the game off with back-to-back singles. Then, Scott Hairston brought them both home with a two-run double. The only other scoring rally the Mets would be able to put together happened in the fourth inning; after Andres Torres tripled with one out, newly recalled Rob Johnsondrove him in with a sacrifice fly. Although they only scored three runs last night, the Mets put together a 10-hit attack, and Hairston leading the way with three hits and two RBI. Torres, Tejada, and Harvey also contributed with multi-hit games. Howver, the RISP problem continued for the Mets, as they went 1-for-6 last night, stranding 8 runners.

Diamondbacks Offensive Highlights:

Arizona was stymied all night by Mets pitching, something that we haven’t said or seen in quite some time. In fact, after Harvey made his exit in the middle of the sixth inning, Arizona was only able to get one hit off the bullpen. Their lone run last night came against Jon Rauch in the 8th inning; Jason Kubel walked with one out, and moved to third on Paul Goldschmidt‘s double. Justin Upton was able to drive Kubel in with a sacrifice fly of his own. However, they weren’t able to do much of anything against Mets pitching, only collecting four hits last night, and going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding 11 runners on base.

Pitching Highlights:

Wade Miley wasn’t able to keep the Mets off the board early, and that’s what cost him last night’s game. He threw 107 pitches in 5.1 innings, giving up 3 runs on 9 hits, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Brad Ziegler, Mike Zagurski, Takashi Saito, and David Hernandez combined for 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, but it was too little, too late, as the Mets were able to hold onto that early lead.

This night was about Matt Harvey; the young right-hander just dominated in his MLB debut, giving the Mets hope that they still have some fight left in 2012, but confirmation that the future is definitely bright. It took him 106 pitches to get through 5.1 innings, but that’s because he was busy striking everyone out. He gave up 3 hits and 3 walks, while shutting the Dbacks out and striking out 11 hitters. Just for good measure, he got two hits himself. Josh Edgin, Jon Rauch, Tim Byrdak, and Bobby Parnell were able to hold Arizona to just one run, as Parnell earned his third save of the season.

Worth Noting:

Not only was this a very special day for Matt Harvey, it was a historic one as well. He became the first player since 1900 to strikeout 10 or more batters in his MLB debut, while also registering two hits at the plate. Also, his 11 K’s were a Mets franchise record for a Big League debut. So, this was a pretty good start for Harvey, who proved himself ready to get the call to the Show.

The win snaps the Mets’ six-game losing streak, and improves their record back to 48-51. However, it doesnt help them in the standings, as the Nationals won, keeping them 11.5 games back in the NL East, and 6.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race.

Probable Pitchers Friday:

Jonathon Niese (7-4, 3.59 ERA) will take the mound following Harvey’s performance to try and give the Mets the upper hand in this four-game set. He will be facing Josh Collmenter (2-2, 3.82 ERA). First pitch in Phoenix is scheduled for 9:40p.