MIAMI — Matt Harvey’s long nightmare has become a full-blown horror show.
After surrendering several cheap hits in the early innings Monday night that amounted to little, the beleaguered right-hander reached the fourth inning at Marlins Park and simply began to implode.
For a third time in four starts since returning from the disabled list, Harvey couldn’t even complete five innings, in the Mets’ brutal 13-1 loss to the Marlins.
Harvey (5-6) allowed seven earned runs on 12 hits and two walks over four-plus innings, raising his ERA to 13.19 since returning from 2 ½ months sidelined with a stress injury in his right scapula.
“There is nothing to say,” Harvey said. “It’s terrible, not fun, there is no reason for questions [from reporters], there are no answers. You are going to write what you are going to write, anyway. Obviously it’s deserved, so whatever you want to write, but there is nothing to say.”
But Harvey said he still plans to make his final two starts of the regular season.
“This is my job, this is what I’m supposed to do,” he said. “You have to keep pushing and go back out there and do everything you can to be better. Obviously that is not working, so you have to figure something else out.”
Last week at Wrigley Field, Harvey was visibly despondent after allowing 11 base runners in 3 ¹/3 innings against the Cubs, in which he allowed five earned runs.
Though the Mets (65-85) are likely to tender a contract to the arbitration-eligi- ble pitcher after this season, he isn’t making the decision easy for team officials. As it stands, if the Mets were in a playoff race, Harvey would be relegated to mop-up duty in the bullpen, if allowed to participate at all.
Harvey’s injury this season came after he missed the second half of 2016 following surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.
“In this particular case, when you are coming back from basically a year and a half of injuries, at this particular stage, if it were about wins and losses he wouldn’t be out there,” manager Terry Collins said. “Some-
body else would be pitching, so it’s a process where we think it’s good for Matt to be out there as he continues to work on getting back into form.”
Harvey’s night unraveled in the fourth, when Giancarlo Stanton unleashed a violent line drive over the center-field fence for his major-league leading 55th homer. The threerun blast put the Mets in a 5-1 hole — it marked the third time in his four starts since returning from the disabled list that Harvey surrendered at least five earned runs.
“He just lost command of his stuff, and that has been the biggest issue,” Collins said. “All of a sudden he hung some sliders and got some balls out over the plate.”
Dee Gordon’s bunt single began the rally before Harvey plunked Tomas Telis. Stanton then crushed a slider for a clothesline homer.
In the fifth, Ichiro Suzuki and Mike Aviles singled in succession leading off, prompting Collins to remove Harvey. The Marlins scored seven runs in the inning, two of which were charged to Harvey.