Matt Harvey opened the All-Star Game. Mariano Rivera came on in the eighth inning, not his usual ninth, and was named MVP.
The Great Rivera became the first reliever ever to be named MVP of the All-Star Game. The Mets’ Harvey, 24, is in his first full season. Rivera, 43, is in his last season with the Yankees.
This Tuesday night was the perfect intersection of two eras in this New York City Midsummer Classic as the American League shut out the National League, 3-0, at Citi Field.
When Rivera signed with the Yankees back in 1990, Harvey was all of 10 months old.
The American League will now have home-field advantage in the World Series. The injury-riddled Yankees are not likely to get there this October, so this was most likely Rivera’s last time on the national stage.
When Rivera entered the game to start the eighth he was given a long standing ovation by the 45,186 fans, the largest crowd in Citi Field history.
He also was alone. His teammates stayed off the field so he could bask in the moment on the mound. It was the ultimate sign of respect. Rivera was given a standing ovation by every other All-Star in the ballpark, too.
Then, when he retired the NL in order in the eighth on 16 pitches, 11 strikes, he was given another standing ovation. As he slowly walked off the field, Tigers ace Justin Verlander was the first to greet him outside the third base dugout.
Rivera said he was incredibly touched by the reception he received from the crowd, but also from the other All-Stars.
“It almost made me cry,’’ Rivera said. “It was beautiful. I have no words to explain it and the appreciation shown to me. I can’t describe it. To me it was powerful, knowing the best of the best were standing in front of their dugouts and cheering for me, it means a lot to me. All I can say is thank you.’’
Rivera owns 638 saves. He was not given the chance to pitch the ninth because AL manager Jim Leyland did not want to take the chance of having the NL take the lead in the bottom of the eighth, not allowing Rivera to pitch in the ninth.
“I wanted to pitch the ninth, but I also wanted to pitch,’’ Rivera said. “If something happened in the eighth I wouldn’t have pitched, so Jim Leyland wanted to make sure I pitched, so he said ‘You will pitch the eighth,’ and I thank him for doing that.’’
That’s Mariano Rivera in a nutshell, another classy move.
On this night, Rivera’s shining moment just came one inning earlier than usual, but the important thing is that it came on the All-Star stage in his city.
“We wanted to make sure he got in the game,’’ said Joe Nathan, who earned the save. “I can’t believe I had the ninth inning. I was never so nervous in my life, trying to get that save for Mariano.’’
Nathan gave the game ball to Rivera.
“I had to pitch Mo in the ninth because if somebody else pitched the eighth and they took the lead there would not have been a ninth,’’ Leyland explained in his typical no-nonsense fashion.
While Rivera’s amazing Yankees’ career is in its final act, the journey for Harvey is just beginning with the Mets, and he made a most dramatic appearance in his first All-Star Game. With his third pitch of the night, the NL starter nailed Yankees star Robinson Cano just above the right knee and Cano went to first. After Harvey struck out the best hitter in the game, Miguel Cabrera, with a nasty slider, Cano limped off.
As Cano walked past Harvey back to the dugout, the young right-hander apologized to Cano, saying “My bad.’’
“I said, ‘No problem,’ ’’ Cano said. “I know he don’t want to hit nobody. That is just part of the game, so what else can you do.’’
An MRI exam was negative and the injury is considered a bruised quad.
Harvey then did what he does best.
He had surrendered a leadoff double to Mike Trout on a fastball away on the first pitch and now he had to face Cabrera with runners on first and second.
“That was when I knew I was going to have to buckle down and obviously the last thing I want to do is get down 3 0 and no outs in an All-Star Game,’’ Harvey said.
The next three AL batters had a combined 87 home runs this season. It could have been 3-0 in a flash. Harvey buckled down, striking out Cabrera on a nasty slider, getting Chris Davis to fly to center and whiffed Jose Bautista.
Harvey didn’t hit 100 mph, but he was impressive. In a 1-2-3 second inning, he struck out Baltimore’s Adam Jones with a vicious up-and-in 98 mph fastball.
This was a day and night of memories for Harvey, who was the star of the red carpet parade. When he was asked what the highlight of his day was, he made a joke about his bright orange cleats.
“Well, I hope it’s not the cleats that I was wearing,’’ he said. “No, just meeting everybody, being in the locker room, playing this game with David [Wright], that was the biggest thing. I think as a kid, you dream of sitting on the side as the Home Run Derby is going on, and that was an awesome event, too. The support that was given in the red carpet [parade], that was indescribable. This whole experience has just been, you know, breathtaking.’’
Yes, it was in so many ways on this hot midsummer night in the city.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com