Game Recap: Bullpen Wastes Solid Start From Matt Harvey in 5-2 Loss

Matt Harvey continued his impressive run with the Mets last night, as he put together another solid start, and has now struck out 43 batters in his first 36 innings pitched in the Big Leagues. That’s the most strikeouts in that span in franchise history. However, that couldn’t help the offense score runs against the Rockies, as New York lost their third straight to Colorado.

Mets Offensive Highlights:

New York went right to work against Jeff Francis in the bottom of the first, as Ruben Tejada greeted him with his 21st double of the season. After moving to third from a Ronny Cedeno ground out, Scott Hairston drove in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly to left field. That was all the Mets could muster against the Colorado left-hander, as he only allowed four more hits the rest of his start. After they lost the lead, the Amazins tried to start a comeback in the bottom of the 8th, as Hairston doubled with two outs and scored on an Ike Davissingle. Once again, the Mets struggled with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-6 and stranding 9 runners. Matt Harvey was the only player with a multiple hit night. Yup, it was that kind of game.

Rockies Offensive Highlights:

It took Colorado four innings to figure out Matt Harvey, as they led off the fourth with back-to-back singles from Jonathan Herrera and Dexter Fowler. After Carlos Gonzalez struck out, Wilin Rosario hit a sacrifice fly of his own to tie up the score. He wasn’t done yet, as he hit his 20th homer of the season off Ramon Ramirez to give the Rockies their first lead of the evening. Tyler Colvin doubled after that, and eventually came around to score on a suicide squeeze from DJ LaMahieu, which Ramirez botched. Colorado added much needed insurance in the 9th, as Chris Nelson singled in a run and Josh Rutledge doubled in the 5th and final run of the night.

Pitching Highlights:

Both starters earned the no decision, but not without putting together solid performances. Jeff Francis threw 5 innings while giving up 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4 hitters. He lowered his season-ERA from 6.17 to 5.79 with his effective start. Carlos Torres earned the win with 2.2 innings of relief, while Matt Reynolds and Will Harris held the lead for Rafael Betancourt, who registered his 25th save of the season.

Matt Harvey was even more impressive, as he threw 6 innings and gave up 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks with 9 strikeouts. He looked upset when Terry Collins gave him the hook going into the 7th, but with 102 pitches under his belt and an innings limit looming, it made sense. However, Ramon Ramirez came in and couldn’t do much of anything, as he gave up 2 runs in his 0.2 innings of work. Robert Carson and Josh Edgin put together hitless appearances, but Frank Francisco continues to struggled, as he gave up 2 more runs in the 9th.

The loss is the fourth in a row for Terry Collins’ squad, as they are now sporting a 57-67 season record, their lowest point of 2012.

Probable Pitchers Thursday:

Collin McHugh (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his MLB debut in place of the injured Johan Santana, hoping to avoid the four-game sweep. Tyler Chatwood (3-3, 5.46 ERA) will make the start for the Rockies. The finale of this four-game set is set to get started at Citi at 1:10pm.