5/7 Game Recap: Harvey Nearly Perfect as Mets Top White Sox in 10

Entering this season, the White Sox were the only team that had yet to play the Mets in New York.  That changed tonight when Matt Harvey took on Hector Santiago.

May 7, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher

(33) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: John Munson/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

Harvey was the story of the night as he took a perfect game into the seventh inning of a scoreless game, but lost it when Alex Rios hit a grounder into the hole to Ruben Tejada‘s right at short.  Tejada made a great jump throw to first, but Rios beat it by a full step.  It was a tough way for a perfect game to be broken up, but Harvey recovered from the shock of losing his perfecto by striking out Adam Dunn for his 10th strikeout of the night.  Harvey then tossed two more perfect innings to finish the ninth before the game headed to extras.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the tenth.  After Ike Davis led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second on a beautiful bunt by Juan Lagares, Mike Baxter pinch hit and laced the ball over first baseman Adam Dunn and down the right field line as Ike Davis scored the winning run in the Mets’ 1-0 victory.

Highlights:

• Matt Harvey got the start for the Mets and was absolutely incredible.  He sliced through Chicago’s lineup, and the only runner he allowed was Alex Rios, who reached on an infield single in the 7th.  Harvey tossed 9 innings and struck out 12.  Though he was absolutely brilliant, Harvey received a no-decision – becoming only the third pitcher in the last 10 years to toss 9 innings of 1 hit, no run ball but fail to get a win.  The other two were Ben Sheets in 2004 and Travis Wood in 2010 (hat tip to Adam Rubin).

• Bobby Parnell pitched a 1-2-3 frame in the 10th.

• Mike Baxter drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the 10th.

Thoughts:

This game was all about Matt Harvey.  As a Mets fan who isn’t old enough to remember Dwight Gooden during his heyday, I’ve never experienced anything like this, and I find myself almost waiting for the other shoe to drop.  The thing is, even though I’m worried about the other shoe dropping, I don’t think it will.  Harvey has it all: the stuff, the attitude, the confidence, the mound presence, and the drive.  It’s been an absolute joy watching him since the night he made his debut last July in Arizona.

Next Up:

The Mets wrap up their quick two game set with the White Sox tomorrow night at 7:10.  Jeremy Hefner gets the start for New York.

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