As a kid, Matt Harvey sat in the stands for a bunch of Subway Series games, rooting for the Yankees and sporting pinstriped gear.
“Maybe a Yankee hat every once in a while,” Harvey admitted yesterday. “Nothing serious, though.”
Tonight the 24-year-old Mets phenom, former Yankees fan and New London, Conn., native will make his Subway Series debut, facing his old favorite team while pitching for his current team at Citi Field. It’s easily the most anticipated night of the four-game Subway Series set, with the Mets boasting their superlative ace and brightest talent. And it’s even bigger after the Mets won the opener last night, 2-1.
Harvey is 5-0 on the year with a sparkling 1.93 ERA. The flamethrowing right-hander has not lost a game since Sept. 12 of last season.
“He’s impressive,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said yesterday, adding that he watched Harvey’s major league debut against the Diamondbacks last July. “I called my buddy [at the time]. He’s a Mets fan. I told him, ‘You have something to be excited about.’ ”
VOTE: WHAT WAS THE BEST SUBWAY SERIES MOMENT?
PHOTOS: METS NIP YANKS IN OPENER
Not only has Harvey never faced the Yankees, but he never has faced any current Yankee. He will be trying to reverse a bad trend last year when the Mets started two star pitchers against the Yankees who were in an absolute groove. First was Johan Santana, coming off his no-hitter, and second was R.A. Dickey, coming off consecutive one-hitters. The Yankees battered both.
So while Harvey has been terrific all season, that hasn’t stopped the Yankees in the past.
“He’ll be ready [tonight],” Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Collins said he believes the matchup — with the hype and excitement — is similar to April 19 at Citi Field when Harvey squared off against Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg. That worked out superbly for Harvey, who fired seven innings of one-run ball in a 7-1 victory.
Harvey estimated he attended perhaps “a half dozen” Subway Series games as a fan (venturing to both Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium), although he couldn’t point out any particularly memorable Mets-Yankees clashes he had been at. Harvey, who typically went to the games with his father, said his favorite Yankee was Paul O’Neill.
“I dreamed of being involved [in the Subway Series],” Harvey said.
Harvey’s family was all Yankees fans, but he said things have changed.
“They’re all Mets fans now,” he said.
Does he have an idea of the importance of the rivalry to New York?
“I was from Connecticut,” Harvey said, “and it [still] meant a lot.”
Harvey won’t be facing a typically powerful Yankees lineup, of course: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Kevin Youkilis, Eduardo Nunez and Francisco Cervelli are all on the disabled list, and the Yankees entered yesterday ranked just 10th in the American League in runs scored. They also won’t have designated hitter Travis Hafner, perhaps their second-best hitter this season, for the two games at Citi Field.
Still, Harvey will face some threats, especially Robinson Cano and Vernon Wells. The talented righty grew up pulling for the pinstripes. He’ll be trying to get them out tonight in his first Subway Series start.