Mets tab 11 hits, but lose 8-5 behind ineffective Matt Harvey

Despite a valiant offensive effort for the New York Mets, their poor defensive showing and an ineffective Matt Harvey led to a 8-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Game Recap:

The Giants got off to a quick, 2-0 start against Matt Harvey after Joe Panik knocked a two-run home run into the bullpens, driving in Nori Aoki. Fortunately for the Mets, Harvey settled down and retired the following three batters.

With the Mets no-hit by Chris Heston last night, Curtis Granderson made sure to erase any concerns about a repeat performance. Granderson drove a deep fly ball to center field that Angel Pagan failed to retrieve. However, Granderson thought the ball was caught, put his head down, and attempted to go back to the dugout.

Granderson recovered, but was stuck on first base and settled for a single. After a Ruben Tejada ground out and a Lucas Duda walk, Michael Cuddyer hit a grounder to left field. Tim Teufel decided to send Granderson, but the decision proved to be a bad one as he was out by a few steps.

Luckily for the Mets, Wilmer Flores came up and singled to center field, tying the game, 2-2.

The scored remained 2-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth when Eric Campbell delivered an RBI single, allowing Travis d’Arnaud to score.

With the score 3-2, the Mets added on another run with a Lucas Duda RBI single, providing Matt Harvey a two run cushion heading into the sixth inning.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to celebrate as Harvey was greeted by a Panik single to lead off the inning, followed by a Pagan walk, a base-clearing double off the bat of Buster Posey, and a two-run home run off the bat of Brandon Belt.

After Brandon Crawford was thrown out after trying to extend a double, Jason Maxwell came up to the plate and hit another home run for the Giants.

What was once a 4-2 lead for the Mets, quickly became a 7-4 deficit.

It stayed a 7-4 until the bottom of the eighth when Juan Lagares tripled in d’Arnaud to bring it to a 7-5 game.

In the top of the ninth, the Giants added an extra insurance run with a Posey double, to seal the victory for them, 8-5.

Highlights:

• Matt Harvey did not look good at all. He finished the evening tossing six innings, allowing seven runs off nine hits, three of which were home runs. Harvey’s ERA for the season is now a pedestrian-like 3.62.
• Curtis Granderson is coming alive at the plate, going 2-for-3 including a long single (which should’ve been a double) and an actual double.
• In his return to the lineup, Travis d’Arnaud 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
• Wilmer Flores went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Thoughts:

Let’s get the good news out of the way first: The Mets got a hit tonight and their offense didn’t look dormant at all!

Sure, they didn’t win the ball game, but it’s nice knowing that the Mets still remember how to hit the ball and drive in runs.

Now, on to the more pressing issue: Matt Harvey.

So, he is human after all! Are all of his earned runs over the past few weeks concerning? Of course.

Is it necessary to boo him? No, absolutely not.

The fans at Citi Field booed their marquee pitcher because of his subpar outing. However, they need to remember that Harvey is a year removed from recovering from Tommy John Surgery.

Give the man a break. He won’t be lights out all season; it’s almost improbable for someone to be extremely effective after such a long time away from the mound. If you need a good comparison? Look at Adam Wainwright.

Rest easy, Mets fans. Harvey will bounce back and he’ll have flashy outings yet again.

The Dark Knight will rise again.

Up Next:

Jon Niese will take to the mound, opposed by Tim Lincecum in the series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.