Mets, Matt Harvey Lose Pitchers Duel To Marlins, Jose Fernandez

By Kenneth Teape | Jun 5, 2016

Jun 5, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey (33) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Mets and Miami Marlins locked in a pitcher’s duel Sunday afternoon, as Jose Fernandez beat Matt Harvey in a 1-0 victory.

The New York Mets were looking for a weekend series sweep against the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon. To get it done, the Mets were going to have to defeat Jose Fernandez, who has been outstanding at home in his career. With a healthy lineup that is a tall task, but with the injuries the Mets’ lineup is dealing with it was far from their best and Fernandez made mince meat out of them.

Fernandez was dominant virtually right from the start. After retiring the first two batters of the game, Curtis Granderson hit a double with two outs in the first inning. That would be the last base runner for a while for the Mets, as Fernandez mowed them down afterwards.

Fernandez would retire 15 consecutive Mets before Alejandro De Aza reached base with two outs in the sixth inning with a bunt single. The Mets would put a scare into Fernandez in the seventh inning, as they had a two-out rally with Michael Conforto and James Loney hitting back-to-back singles.

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But, as he did throughout the afternoon, Fernandez would get his nasty slider going to struck out Wilmer Flores to end the threat and finish up his strong afternoon. Fernandez was outstanding on the afternoon, going seven innings, allowing only four hits and zero walks with a career-high tying 14 strikeouts.

Coming into the afternoon, Fernandez has been masterful at home and against the Mets in his career. Entering the game, Fernandez had a record of 22-1 with an ERA of 1.59 with 247 strikeouts in 204 1/3 innings at home. Against the Mets, he was 1-0 in five career starts with a 1.67 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 27 innings. All of those numbers improved with his performance Sunday afternoon.

With Fernandez dominating, Matt Harvey did everything he could to keep the Mets in the game. Harvey, who was coming off his best start of the season his last time out against the Chicago White Sox, had yet another strong start today.

Harvey gave up only four hits and one run in seven innings, as he had another strong performance. This makes two straight starts that he has made it through seven innings after not doing it previously in the season. Harvey only struck out three batters, but the Mets will take this performance as he is taking another step in the right direction.

He made one mistake on the afternoon, as Derek Dietrich hit a double off the wall in right field in the fifth inning. J.T. Realmuto would follow it up with a soft single up the middle for the only run of the game, giving Harvey the tough luck loss.

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The Mets will now move on to a three-game trip on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates starting Monday night. Neil Walker will be facing off with his former team for the first time this season, as the Mets will be facing off with their former player in Jon Niese to start the series. Steven Matz will be taking the mound for the Mets in the series opener against Niese.

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