MATT BACK IN THE MIX Matt Harvey said he hasn’t felt this good in two years. How good is good? The Mets’ right-hander says he threw freely and without discomfort between each of his recent minor league rehab starts, something that wasn’t possible as he
Begins latest comeback vs. Astros
In a nightmarish season for both the team and player, the 28year-old Harvey is 4-3 with a 5.25 ERA in 13 starts. Ideally, he would like to receive five to six starts over this final month of the season and show the Mets he can be counted on heading into 2018.
Harvey missed the entire second half of last season after un- dergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. His biggest issue upon returning this year was locating his pitches.
“I think the main thing we’ll make sure, is the arm strength there?” Collins said. “That is certainly something we have to keep an eye on with the injury that he had. And I’m not talking about velocity, I am just talking about making sure the delivery is intact.
“Once you get out of whack with mechanics and change your arm angles, that is when injuries occur. That will be the No. 1 thing we focus on, is everything where it should be? We are just anxious to see how he does.”
Harvey pitched to a 4.63 ERA in his four rehab starts, but team officials are hopeful the adrenaline of returning to the mound against major league hitters will lift his performance level.
Even so, Harvey says he is just relieved the discomfort has subsided and he can handle a normal workload again.
“It’s been a relief to come back after two months, and be able to throw between starts and have no pain and feel like we are going in the complete opposite direction, the right direction,” Harvey said.
Collins’ only concern is Harvey might push too hard Saturday.
“You can just tell from talking to him he’s really fired up about getting out there,” Collins said. “So we just hope that he realizes it’s all about staying comfortable and making pitches and I know [pitching coach] Dan [Warthen] will remind him, ‘Don’t get too caught up, except in staying together and keeping your mechanics together.’ So I am just glad he’s back out there and hopefully this all points that his health is coming back and if that’s the case I think Matt Harvey will come back.”