UNC Baseball:Former Diamond Heel Matt Harvey Dominates in MLB Debut

If  trying to prevent your team from losing its seventh straight game wasn’t tough enough, imagine its also your first start as a Major League Baseball pitcher.

That was the daunting task placed in front of former Diamond Heel standout Matt Harvey in his New York Mets debut Thursday night in Arizona.

Since the All-Star break the Mets overall have been atrocious giving up 76 runs while producing only 40. More so the pitching and lack their of, has seen them lose 11 of 12 and six straight heading into Harvey’s debut. This is not what most teams would in-vision when sending a rookie to the mound for his first outing. Some would look at it as impossible odds and most Mets fans questioned why he wasn’t on the mound last weekend like originally anticipated.

Maybe if he started a week ago there wouldn’t be this added pressure of a  “must win” feeling or their slim playoff hopes may begin to completely vanish.

No matter the case, Harvey came out and looked every bit worth the 2.52 Million dollar signing bonus he obtained after being drafted in 2010.  From his first pitch(97 MPH) on through the game, everyone watching and in attendance could tell this guy throws gas. And that is no exaggeration. His fastball had strong resemblance to another young phenom throwing heat in DC(Stephen Strasburg).

The first time through the lineup you could tell most of the Diamondback hitters had no idea who he was until they saw that first fastball. Then when they thought they figured it out and could time his fastball, Harvey would throw a 90 mile an hour slider that would look good and break ever so slightly out of the zone. Arizona’s lead-off hitter Gerardo Parra was the first strikeout victim on four pitches but he sure wasn’t the last.

Matt Harvey would go on to strikeout eleven through only 5 and a third innings, giving up only 3 hits, 3 walks, and not allowing any runs. He even got in on the action with his bat. Harvey made a little Baseball History becoming the only player in the modern era(after 1900) thus far to record over 10 strikeouts and 2 hits in his Major League debut. He got a little help from his bullpen that hasn’t done much but lose lately and they helped him get his first big league win.

Overall you could say Matt Harvey did more than answer the bell and end a dreadful losing streak for his team. Most of his strikeouts came on less than six pitches and when it came to challenging top-notch hitters, he answered that too. Justin Upton went 0-2 with two strikeouts on high 90’s heat, and prior to his encounter with a lights out rookie, Jason Kubel was destroying the month of July statistically batting .313, slugging over .860 with 11 HR’s and 22 RBI’s. Harvey held Kubel to a 1 for 3 night with two big strikeouts.

It came at a perfect time for the Mets as well. Currently they have four pitchers on the DL and three are starters. Though Harvey may not be able to save the remainder of the season with his arm alone, New York now has plenty to look forward to with possibly the next big name young pitcher. At 6’4, 220 pounds, Harvey not only looks the part, but the way he pitched Thursday makes me think he may be poised to be the future ace of the New York Mets.