PORT ST. LUCIE — Bring on the Tigers.
Matt Harvey unleashed 25 pitches in batting practice on Monday, displaying a curveball he had abandoned in recent years, and focus immediately turned to the Mets’ exhibition home opener on Friday.
The Mets ace is scheduled to take the mound for 35-40 pitches over two innings against the Tigers in what will mark Harvey’s return to competitive action, just over 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery.
“We still have a whole month to go, and I don’t want to go out there and overwork and get too excited about one or two innings or however many pitches I am going to throw,” Harvey said following his mound session.
But Harvey recently received a text message from David Price informing him the Tigers lefty will be the starter for Friday’s game at Tradition Field. Harvey was a college student at North Carolina when he first met Price, then pitching at the Rays’ Single-A affiliate in Durham, N.C. The two have maintained a friendship since.
Harvey is talking the talk of somebody who understands it won’t be Game 7 of the World Series on Friday, but the Mets also realize the right-hander will be pumped up and ready for liftoff.
“All of a sudden it’s going to be different and he’s going to try to bring himself back,” manager Terry Collins said. “But it’s going to be hard for him, because he’s going to be excited out there. You have the Tigers and David Price on the other side of the field. We’re all anxious to see him get back out there.”
Harvey faced David Wright and Curtis Granderson during Monday’s batting practice session and got both hitters to chase his rediscovered curveball.
Harvey said he threw the curve in college, but abandoned it upon arriving to professional baseball. After getting a good feel for the pitch during his rehab, he decided to begin throwing it again.
“I always threw sliders and I don’t know where this curveball came from, so it’s nice having that develop,” Harvey said. “I don’t know if I figured out something in my mechanics or it just magically appeared, but it’s nice having that and it felt good out there.
“As many bullpens as I have been throwing without facing a hitter, you’re able to work on certain things a little bit more than normal, so maybe the amount of times I have been throwing [the curve] in the bullpen has helped. But all my pitches right now are feeling pretty equal, which is kind of a surprise and something I’m very happy about.”
The Mets open their Grapefruit League season on Wednesday with Dillon Gee scheduled to face the Braves in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. A day later, Bartolo Colon will face the Nationals in Viera, leading into Harvey’s start in the spring home opener.
Harvey last pitched in a competitive game on Aug. 24, 2013, ironically enough against the Tigers. He underwent Tommy John surgery two months later, after deciding against rehab on his right elbow.
Though Harvey campaigned to pitch at the end of last season, the Mets decided he would be better served with the additional rest. Because of that extra layoff, the right-hander may pitch upwards of 180 innings this season.
“I thought he was ready to pitch at the end of last year, and I think Matt thought he was ready,” pitching coach Dan Warthen said. “I think we made the right decision. It would have done us no good, but he was ready to pitch then. He has stayed ready all winter long, came out throwing and he and a number of others are ready for games.”