PHOENIX — Matt Harvey’s heat could have killed a cactus. The Mets rookie owned the desert Thursday night, turning his major league debut into a performance he eventually will tell his grandkids about.
What wasn’t to like? Everything clicked for the fireballing right-hander over 5 ¹/₃ shutout innings in which Harvey struck out 11 batters to break Tom Seaver’s and Bill Denehy’s franchise record for most strikeouts in a major league debut. That dominance helped the Mets snap a six-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
“It was everything I could have imagined,” said the 23-year-old Harvey after allowing three hits and three walks. “I just wanted to go out and do everything I could to keep us in winning distance, and I did.”
It now seems laughable there was even a debate over whether Harvey was a better option than the recently released Miguel Batista to fill a vacancy in the Mets’ rotation. Harvey undoubtedly will endure growing pains, but is here to stay. His next start will come on Tuesday in San Francisco.
“Electric stuff, for sure,” manager Terry Collins said. “Tremendous composure, I thought. Due to the velocity throughout the first four innings you could tell he was pretty juiced up…. I haven’t seen 98 [mph] from a starting pitcher in quite some time and I saw several from him today.
“He’s lived up to exactly what everybody has talked about. Now I want him to go out the next time and be a little more comfortable and make pitches as effectively as he did today, because he was outstanding.”
Collins stuck to his pregame promise of removing Harvey on a positive note. The righty was yanked with one out in the sixth, after a walk to Justin Upton put runners on first and second with the Mets leading 3-0. Josh Edgin entered and got the final two outs of the inning without a run scoring.
Harvey also went 2-for-2 with a double and single to become the first Mets pitcher since David West on Sept. 24, 1988 to get at least two hits in his initial major league start. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Harvey is the first pitcher since 1900 to record at least 10 strikeouts and have at least two hits in his major league debut.
Harvey struck out seven in the first three innings alone last night. He then tied Seaver and Denehy with a strikeout of Upton in the fourth before setting the record in the fifth.
“I didn’t realize how many strikeouts I had until I got out of the game,” Harvey said. “I wanted to do everything I could to win.”
Scott Hairston’s two-run double in the first gave Harvey a cushion. Andres Torres tripled in the fourth and scored on Rob Johnson’s sacrifice fly to give Harvey a 3-0 lead.
Harvey’s first major league jam came in the third, an inning in which he threw two wild pitches, putting runners on second and third with one out. But the righty struck out Jason Kubel before catching Paul Goldschmidt looking on a 98-mph heater to end the inning. Gerardo Parra also struck out in the inning — but reached first base when the ball skipped past Johnson.
In the sixth, Harvey walked Kubel to begin the inning before striking out Goldschmidt and walking Upton. Collins then decided to make the pitching change.
Harvey had the benefit of pitching to Johnson, who was his catcher at Triple-A Buffalo for most of the season. The Mets called up Johnson primarily to give Harvey a comfort level of sorts for his debut.
Before the game, Johnson said it’s rare to receive an opportunity to catch the debut of a Roger Clemens-type pitcher.
“I’m not saying he’s going to be Roger Clemens,” Johnson said. “I’m just saying he has the potential to be a pretty good pitcher.”