The Mets will go as far as Matt Harvey takes them. And last night he took them a long way. He took them to a place where they were better than the Nationals and Harvey was better than Stephen Strasburg.
In fact, on this night, Harvey was much better than Strasburg, so much so it prompted the 26,675 fans at Citi Field to chant: “Harvey’s better!’’
On this night, the big right-hander once again said to his teammates: “Follow me.’’
After Daniel Murphy made a critical error to load the bases with no outs, one run in and the Mets leading, 4-1 in the seventh, Harvey got out of the jam with a strike out, a pop up and a ground out to Murphy.
The first Met to congratulate Harvey as he came off the mound was — you guessed it — Murphy.
“I felt it was my duty to be the first one to thank him,’’ Murphy told The Post. “He really showed what kind of competitor he is. It was awesome.’’
It was. Harvey improved his record to 4-0 with the 7-1 victory. He struck out seven, giving him 102 in 14 career games. The only Mets with more strikeouts in their first 14 games are Doc Gooden (107) and Nolan Ryan (103). Gooden watched the new ace last night from behind home plate.
Just listen to what Harvey said about Murphy coming over to him.
“Those fielders work their butts off every single day and I appreciate [Murphy] coming up to me like that, but I envy those guys,’’ he said.
The Mets are at their best when Harvey is on the mound, as Ike Davis and Lucas Duda each hit a pair of home runs.
Harvey leads, the Mets follow.
“I wanted to do everything I could to win this game,’’ Harvey said.
As for those chants, Harvey said, “That’s nice to hear, but I got a long ways to go [to be better than Strasburg].’’
Noted veteran pitcher LaTroy Hawkins: “That seventh inning was his coming-out party. That was some big-boy [expletive] right there.’’
“His determination to be the best is what separates him,’’ noted Mets manager Terry Collins. “A lot of guys accept who they are and they know they’re good. This guy wants to be the best there is in the game. The last time I ever heard someone say that was [Barry] Bonds. So that’s a pretty big statement. So far all he’s done is back it up.’’
Too many Mets are just trying to survive. This is a franchise that has been beaten down so long, they’ve lost the attack mode. Matt Harvey is always on the attack.
The Mets went into last night’s game losers of three straight, but Harvey was again the stopper.
Harvey grew up with that determination. Collins has given Harvey the keys to the kingdom of leadership and he wants other players to realize it’s about going beyond your talent.
As Collins told The Post, “There are a lot of guys who say, ‘Hell yeah, [Harvey] is successful, look at the stuff he’s got, instead of saying, ‘Holy [expletive], I should be able to get more out of myself, I can’t throw that hard, but I should be able to pick my game up, too.’ ’’
Therein is the key for the Mets. How many will follow Harvey’s lead?
“It’s the same thing I’ve told position players, be like David Wright,’’ Collins said. “Nobody may have his hand speed, nobody may have his vision, all those things that go into becoming a good hitter, but the work ethic involved and just the determination just to be as good as you can be, whoever you are, that’s the challenge.’’
That is the only way the Mets are going to climb out of the fourth-place abyss they have lived in for so long. Matt Harvey is the key to that change in philosophy.
“That’s the mark of a true ace,’’ Collins said of Harvey’s performance.
Harvey’s better. That’s saying something big.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com