The Baltimore Orioles are taking on the New York Mets in Citi Field on Wednesday afternoon. It was an intriguing matchup for a few reasons, but the top of the list here was Matt Harvey being the mound for the Orioles. It was Harvey's first time facing his former club, and his first time pitching at Citi Field since he was traded by the Mets in 2018.
Here he is in the first inning, greeted to what appears to be a standing ovation with mostly cheers and a mix of some boos as well:
The outing itself didn't go well for Harvey despite a 1-2-3 first frame. The Mets greeted him with four straight hits to start the second inning, plating three runs. He would end up being removed with one out in the fifth inning, having left behind two baserunners. Both of those baserunners would come around to score, the final line looks pretty ugly.
This marks the worst start of the season for Harvey.
Harvey spent six seasons with the Mets, starting the 2013 All-Star Game on that mound and finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting that season. He also was one of the pitching staff anchors on the 2015 run to the NL pennant, famously talking his way out of being shut down during September and pitching deep into October instead.
Following that 2015 run, the remaining times with Harvey and the Mets were tumultuous, but there's no need to relive the bad. From 2012-15, Harvey made 65 starts for the Mets, going 25-18 with a 2.53 ERA (146 ERA+), 1.00 WHIP and 449 strikeouts in 427 innings. Wednesday provided Mets fans with their first chance to greet Harvey in three years.
He's most familiar with Citi Field and it's not even close. He previously made 51 career starts in Citi Field. His second-highest total among ballparks would be the 13 starts he made in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. He carried a career 3.14 ERA in Citi Field. Though Harvey is far from the pitcher he was during his prime years, he entered Wednesday's outing 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.29 WHIP this season for the Orioles. His ERA jumped to 4.81 after getting hit hard.
Harvey's counterpart in this game, Taijuan Walker, might be having his career year. It's still way too early to be sure, obviously, as Wednesday marked his seventh start. He entered the game 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA (161 ERA+), 1.03 WHIP and 35 strikeouts in 34 innings while holding opponents to a .171 average and .231 slugging.
Oh, and the Mets came into the game having won six games in a row, reaching a season-high four games over .500. They led the NL East by a game entering Wednesday.
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May 12, 2021 at 09:35PM
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Matt Harvey set to face Mets for first time as former All-Star returns to Citi Field - CBS Sports
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