Matt Harvey failed to silence critics in return from suspension

New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey took the mound on Friday in Milwaukee for the first time since serving a three-game suspension. He did not have a very good outing.

For Matt Harvey, Friday night’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers was an opportunity to make things right with his teammates and New York Mets fans. Unfortunately, he had another rough start and was unable to stop all of the criticism that he has received lately.

This was certainly one of the biggest starts of the season thus far for Harvey. On Sunday, the Mets announced that he was suspended for three games because he violated team rules. He was scheduled to pitch that day, but he did not make the start due to his punishment.

In the days following the announcement of his suspension, it came out that he had failed to show up to Citi Field on Saturday. It was reported by the New York Post that Harvey had stayed out until 4 a.m. on Friday night and then played golf the next morning. He then got a migraine and decided to go home instead of showing up to Citi Field for the Mets game against the Miami Marlins.

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Harvey did not properly inform the team that he was sick and would not be showing up to the ballpark. Because of his actions, the Mets made the decision to suspend him.

With all of this drama, Harvey really needed to pitch well on Friday night in Milwaukee. The Brewers were able to get to him early. After Harvey walked Domingo Santana to lead off the bottom of the second inning, Jett Bandy hit an RBI-double. Harvey was able to limit the damage and escape the inning without allowing any more runs.

The following inning did not go any better for Harvey. Hernan Perez led off the inning with a solo home run, giving the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

Harvey is giving up homers this year. Hernan Perez with one to right. 2-0, Beer Makers.
— Matt Ehalt (@MattEhalt) May 13, 2017

Harvey was able to keep the Brewers off the board for the next couple of innings. The Mets tied the game thanks to a solo home run and an RBI-single, both hit by Neil Walker. Mets manager Terry Collins decided to send Harvey back out for the bottom of the sixth inning.

This decision did not end up paying off. After Keon Broxton singled to start the inning, Harvey gave up back-to-back home runs to Eric Sogard and Orlando Arcia. After this, Collins finally decided to pull him from the game.

Matt Harvey has a 5.63 ERA. TC had him face bottom of the order to maybe squeeze another inning out. Gave up back to back jacks instead.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) May 13, 2017

Overall, Harvey’s final line was very underwhelming. He allowed five earned runs on seven hits and gave up five walks while recording six strikeouts. After he departed, the bullpen went on to give up a few more runs. The Mets ended up losing the game 7-4.

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Harvey is now 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA on the season. The Mets are going to need him to pick it up, especially considering how thin their depth in the starting rotation is right now. The team will have a hard time staying relevant if Harvey continues to pitch as badly as he has lately.

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