Matt Harvey can eliminate “Citi Field debut” from his to-do list and add the words “get run support.”
The Mets rookie took a step forward last night from an ugly performance in San Diego, only to watch his lineup hit the snooze button for the second time in his last three starts.
With more than 100 family members and friends in attendance from his native southeast Connecticut, Harvey recovered from a rough first inning, but got stuck with a third straight “L” in the Mets’ 4-0 loss to the Braves at Citi Field.
Harvey (1-3) allowed a two-run homer to Jason Heyward in the first inning and then pitched the next five scoreless, but it wasn’t good enough on a night lefty Paul Maholm frustrated the Mets by allowing only three hits in a complete-game shutout.
“You look at my record, I haven’t done my job very well,” said Harvey, who has received only 1.8 runs of support in his four starts. “Whether it’s walking too many guys or giving up runs, I’ve got to do better. I’m going to work my [butt] off to do that.”
Dan Uggla’s two-run homer against Josh Edgin in the eighth accounted for Atlanta’s other runs. The Mets (54-59) lost for the fourth time in five games and fell to 1-3 on this homestand.
Harvey, who lowered his ERA to 3.63, gave the Mets a third solid start in his four appearances by allowing two hits and five walks over six innings with three strikeouts. He was removed for a pinch hitter in the sixth after throwing 101 pitches. It was a performance similar to his second major league start, in San Francisco on July 31, when he allowed two earned runs and lost 4-1.
Heyward’s two-run blast on a 94-mph heater seemed like a continuation of Harvey’s dud in San Diego on Sunday, when he allowed two-run homers to Chase Headley and Yonder Alonso. But the righty refused to quit last night.
“He has four quality pitches,” manager Terry Collins said. “Now it’s about using them effectively and trusting his stuff and not being afraid to give up the two-run homer and still coming back and keeping your team in the game. That’s exactly what he did.
“Hopefully he got a lot out of this game. He’s got all the talent he needs to compete up here. All he’s got to do is make pitches.”
Harvey walked David Ross in the second and Uggla in the third, but escaped both times. Ross doubled leading off the fourth, but was left stranded as Harvey began a streak of nine consecutive batters retired.
If there was a turning point for Harvey, it might have been Freddie Freeman’s line drive in the third that drilled the pitcher in the right thigh.
“I think it [ticked] me off,” Harvey said. “I’m going out and walking people and then I get smoked by a line drive, it [ticked] me off, to be honest with you.”
The Mets’ only hit through five innings was Daniel Murphy’s single in the second. But Ronny Cedeno followed with a grounder that turned into an inning-ending double play. Rob Johnson and Scott Hairston doubled in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, for the Mets’ other hits against Maholm (10-7).
Harvey called it an “awesome” experience pitching at Citi Field for the first time after three starts on the road.
“Obviously I wasn’t happy with the results and with a loss — I’ll never be,” he said. “I’m excited for my next start and whenever I get a chance to throw again here, I’ll do a lot better.”