Knight and day
Harvey rebounds with solid 2nd rehab outing
Matt Harvey bounced back nicely Wednesday night.
After a shaky performance on Saturday in his first rehab start for the Single-A Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets right-hander said he was pleased with his second rehab start, a three-inning stint against the Aberdeen Ironbirds at MCU Park in Coney Island.
Harvey allowed just one hit and no runs, striking out three, in the Cyclones’ 6-2 loss. He only needed 36 pitches, 26 of them strikes, to get through the outing.
“For me it’s a feel thing, it’s a mechanical thing,” said Harvey. “Results are always good. As a pitcher, you always want to have results. But like I said, the biggest thing is how I feel, and how my arm’s working, and mechanics are going. We’re definitely moving in the right direction.”
Harvey, who had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in July 2016, has not pitched in the major leagues since June after suffering a stress injury to the scapula bone in his right shoulder.
He did not kick off his rehab in the minors the way he would have wanted to, when he started for the Cyclones on the road against the Hudson Valley Renegades on Saturday.
That night, Harvey threw four straight balls to the first batter he faced, and continued to have command issues throughout his one-inning outing. He needed 18 pitches to get through that frame, throwing just seven for strikes.
“That was the first time I’d ever done a rehab start,” Harvey said. “So really getting the timing back, the rhythm back. I felt like I was able to do that more [Wednesday], and definitely looking forward to my next outing.”
Harvey was sharp from the start Wednesday, however, recording a one, two, three first inning. More impressive was the return of his command. Harvey threw only eight first-inning pitches, six for strikes.
He did run into some trouble in the second, when he gave up a one-out single. After the runner advanced to second on a wild pitch, Harvey was able to get out of the inning unscathed after he picked the runner off with two outs.
Harvey’s best inning came in the third. The former All-Star recorded two strikeouts on only six pitches en route to striking out the side.
Harvey said he was happy with the way he was able to build off his first rehab start.
When asked when he thinks he’ll pitch again, and how many innings he expects to throw, he deferred to the Mets brass.
“I’m assuming it will be four or five days from now,” Harvey said. “But [Mets’ management] makes those decisions. Wherever they send me, I’ll be ready to go.”
Harvey said he knows how significant it will be if he, along with Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia, can return to the big leagues before the season ends.
“It [would be] huge,” he said. “Coming out and finishing the season strong and going into next year is huge for me and big for [the Mets] moving forward. I know Syndergaard is getting close, and I think Familia threw tonight. So we’re all very excited.”
Familia pitched a scoreless inning for Single-A St. Lucie in his first rehab appearance since undergoing May surgery to remove a blood clot from his right shoulder.