ATLANTA — No apology was needed, but Lucas Duda felt compelled to tell Matt Harvey he was sorry.
The Mets ace took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Game 1 of yesterday’s doubleheader against the Braves, but watched that bid disappear when Duda was delinquent covering first base on Jason Heyward’s squib.
Harvey scampered to grab Heyward’s dribbler toward first base and realized he wasn’t in position to make a tag attempt on the play. Harvey then looked to make a throw, but Duda had charged to make a play on the ball and never retreated to first base.
“That was 100 percent my fault, I take full responsibility right there,” Duda said after the Mets’ 4-3 victory. “I should have had the bag. I feel terrible about it, especially the way Matt pitched today, he was pitching well.”
Duda apologized to Harvey, but the pitcher said there was no reason for such a gesture.
“It’s baseball,” Harvey said. “I made a good pitch and it’s in one of those spots where you don’t know if I’m going to come and get it and if [Duda] is going to stay or if he’s coming in, so it’s one of those confusing plays and it was hit in the perfect spot, so we’ve got to move forward.”
Harvey was clearly frustrated after losing the no-hitter. It marked the third time this season the right-hander flirted with a no-no, only to lose it in the seventh. Justin Morneau (Twins) and Alex Rios (White Sox) also spoiled Harvey no-hit bids in the seventh. Morneau homered to end the drama and Rios reached on an infield single to shortstop.
Harvey said Heyward’s dribbler took a funny bounce that prevented him from making an unassisted play.
“I was going to take it with me and attack first, but it kind of checked up and came back toward home,” Harvey said. “As soon as that happened, in my mind I didn’t think I could make the running play to first or tag him.”