CINCINNATI — It was absolute excellence.
Matt Harvey pitched a near masterpiece last night at Great American Ball Park, firing a gem in the Mets’ 8-4 win over the Reds. The Mets’ prized rookie was perfect through four innings and logged a career-high (so far) 7 2/3 innings.
He probably could have gone the distance, and may have been wishing he had considering closer Frank Francisco allowed three runs in the ninth, before being bailed out by Jon Rauch, turning a laugher into a bit of a nail-biter.
In his fifth major league start, Harvey allowed just one run on four hits and a walk, striking out eight in an 89-pitch outing. He was efficient, throwing just 26 balls all night — an average of about three per inning.
“What you saw tonight, was a little taste of what this guy’s going to be able to do,” manager Terry Collins said.
Going to be able to? He already did it. Harvey, who also swatted a two-run double, is now 2-3 but has an impressive 3.00 ERA in his five starts. His adjustment from his last start — five walks against the Braves to just one free pass last night — also was encouraging.
Harvey also has shown he can work with different catchers. He was working for the first time with new catcher Kelly Shoppach, his third battery mate in five starts.
“It was pretty awesome,” Harvey said.
The 23-year-old right-hander’s 34 whiffs in five games are the second-most by a Mets rookie, behind Dwight Gooden (36 in 1984). Last night, Harvey was still at 95 mph in the eighth, and he racked up four of his eight strikeouts with his curve.
Harvey was particularly impressive in the sixth inning. He took the hill after the Mets scored three runs in the top of the inning to build a 6-0 lead. Pitching with that cushion, Harvey pitched a 1-2-3 inning, throwing seven pitches — all strikes.
Harvey put his first two baserunners on in the fifth and pitched scoreless ball into the seventh. He was pulled with two outs and two on in the eighth.
“We’re trying to be careful a little bit,” Collins said, referring to keeping his innings down.
Francisco was unable to close out the ninth despite an 8-1 lead. Collins replaced him with Rauch with two outs when the Reds cut it to 8-4 on four hits and a walk. Rauch closed it out, striking out Wilson Valdez for his third save.
Collins said Francisco’s workload has been insufficient and his fastball command absent. Francisco called his fastball command “terrible right now.”
The Mets’ offense had been brutal lately, scoring three runs or fewer eight times in 11 games before last night’s explosion. Collins dismantled half his lineup, subbing Scott Hairston for Andres Torres in center, Jason Bay for Jordany Valdespin in left, Justin Turner for Daniel Murphy at second and Shoppach for Josh Thole behind the plate.
As it turned out, Collins’ moves generally worked. In his first start since last Friday, Bay delivered a single and a solo homer. Hairston singled, walked and continued showing why he merits an everyday job.
Surprisingly, the 32-year-old has received 400 plate appearances in a season just once in his career. That was in 2009 when he hit .265 with 17 homers, 64 RBIs, 11 steals and a .763 OPS. A .763 OPS would rank 17th among NL outfielders this season.
In 275 plate appearances this season, Hairston has 14 homers, seven steals and an .823 OPS, which would rank 11th among NL outfielders.
“I want to have an opportunity to play every day,” Hairston, a free-agent-to-be, told The Post before the game. “I know in the past I haven’t really gotten that opportunity. … and I’ve been on teams where I’ve platooned with another player. But I still have that desire.”