Game #127: Tigers 3, Mets 0

The Ace/Off of the century was surprisingly devoid of fireworks.

Max Scherzer out-dueled Matt Harvey to pick up his 19th W, and the Mets only managed three hits in a 3-0 loss to the Tigers.

The Bad Stuff:

• Matt Harvey was off his game for two innings, but that was all it took to lose: he allowed his only two runs in the 2nd after RBIs by the opposing starter and center fielder Austin Jackson.
• On the other side on the mound, Max Scherzer thoroughly dominated New York's hitters for four innings and then got really lucky for the final two.
• The Mets got two men on in the 5th but couldn't convert and then loaded the bases with one out in the 6th, but a strikeout by Juan Lagares and a first-pitch popup by John Buck ended the team's last good chance.
• Scherzer finished with a final line of six scoreless, three-hit, four-walk, 11-strikeout innings.

The Good Stuff:

• Harvey allowed a career-high 13 hits but settled down after the 2nd frame, lasting 6.2 innings and allowing just the two runs, walking none and striking out four.
• Ike Davis went 2-3 with a walk and a double.

Final Analysis:
It must be nice to have run support, eh Max?

MM

Game #122: Padres 4, Mets 3

New catcher, same story on Harvey Day.

Matt Harvey's great start was once again wasted as the Padres tied it in the 8th and won it in the 9th to hand the Mets a 4-3 loss and a disappointing series split.

The Bad Stuff:

• See post-Harvey's departure (i.e. Chris Denorfia's run-scoring single after a double against Gonzalez Germen in the 8th, Will Venable's walk-off homer off Pedro Feliciano in the 9th).
• See also: lack of hitting (i.e. six hits in the whole game, 2-6 with RISP, five left on).
• Travis d'Arnaud was identical on Sunday to his debut on Saturday, going 0-2 with two walks and allowing a passed ball.

The Good Stuff:

• See Matt Harvey, usual outing (i.e. 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 86 P).
• Things looked great at the start when Justin Turner tripled and came home on Marlon Byrd's double.
• Wilmer Flores's sac fly in the 4th doubled Harvey's cushion.
• Omar Quintanilla doubled with two outs in the 7th, forcing Terry Collins to pinch-hit Andrew Brown for Harvey. The moved paid off as Brown blasted a shot off the wall in center field to give the Mets a 3-2 lead.

Final Analysis:
We all act like we're shocked and disappointed at this result of a Matt Harvey start, but to be honest, did we expect anything different? I think I'm more surprised when Harvey does win than when he doesn't. Whatever plagued the New York offense during R.A. Dickey's starts in 2011 is acting in full force against Matt Harvey in 2013. What more is there to say?

MM

Game #86: Mets 4, Giants 3 (16)

Come on, the Mets could only play so many marathons before catching a break. The Giants agreed at about 3:00 in the morning New York time.

Eric Young scored on Brandon Crawford's error in the top of the 16th and Bobby Parnell mercifully closed the door on a comeback as the Mets took a marathon game from the Giants 4-3.

The Good Stuff:

• Down 2-0, John Buck got the scoring going in the top of the 5th with an RBI double. Then in the 6th, the Mets were beneficiaries of some truly dreadful San Francisco defense. The first two miscues were committed by ex-Met Andres Torres, whose misplay of an Eric Young line drive led to a leadoff triple and missed tough catch resulted in Daniel Murphy's game-tying RBI single. David Wright followed with an infield single that Pablo Sandoval couldn't turn the double play on, and Murph went to third on a Marco Scutaro error trying to get out Wright. Ike Davis's double play killed the rally but brought home the go-ahead run to make it 3-2, and if not for the double play another run would've come home on Marlon Byrd's Gregor Blanco-assisted triple.
• After the Giants tied the game on the first two pitches of the 7th, the scoring stopped for almost an entire extra game. The star of the game at this point became the New York bullpen: Carlos Torres (2), David Aardsma (1.2), Scott Rice (0.1), Greg Burke (2), and Josh Edgin (2) stewarded the Mets through eight scoreless innings.
• New York was also beneficiary of some excellent clutch pitching and defense, as the Giants hit just 1-15 with RISP and stranded 18 men on base. And none of those tough outs came through the double play.
• The Mets' bats finally woke up in the top of the 16th, led by Eric Young's one-out single. Young promptly stole second and went to third on Murphy's groundout. After Wright was walked intentionally, Anthony Recker hit into what should have been the third out, but shortstop Brandon Crawford bobbled the ball and had no play. Young scored, and the Mets were back up.
• Bobby Parnell walked Marco Scutaro and allowed a Buster Posey single, threatening to spiral the game back into the Fourth of July's back-and-forth-style affair. But Parnell buckled down to strike out Brandon Belt between Scutaro and Posey, strike out Pablo Sandoval, and force Guillermo Quiroz to ground into the 5-4 force play. Game over, marathon over, Mets win.

The Bad Stuff:

• Harvey Day seemed almost an afterthought after the 13th, but Matt Harvey's outing was spoiled by three bad pitches: a 3-1 1st inning fastball Buster Posey turned into a two-run homer, a fastball Hunter Pence led the 7th off with a triple, and a changeup Brandon Crawfored parlayed into the game-tying single. His final numbers produced a quality start (7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 121 pitches), but based on Harvey's lofty standards we'll categorize it as Bad Stuff.
• New York's bats did their best to make Tim Lincecum look like vintage Big-Time Timmy-Jim, as the former Freak struck out 11 and walked just one in his seven innings.
• The Mets could absolutely not get reigning NL MVP Buster Posey out: Posey went 5-8 with his two-run homer and two doubles.

Final Analysis:
Well, it certainly looks like the Mets will set a record for most innings played in one season. That was a great win, enough said.

MM

Game #81: Diamondbacks 5, Mets 3

Turns out the team from Arizona is full of fast learners who took rather quickly to "when it rains, it pours."

Matt Harvey's shutout was ruined by five runs between the 6th and 7th innings and the Mets couldn't muster more than three solo home runs, falling to the D'Backs 5-3.

The Bad Stuff:

• It wasn't a no-hitter, but for 5.2 innings Matt Harvey was lights-out on the mound. Then with two on and two out in the 6th, Cody Ross, the would-be hero of Monday night, took a 1-0 slider and deposited it just over the shortest part of the left field fence. All of a sudden a 2-0 Harvey Day turned into a 3-2 deficit.
• Things didn't get much better in the 7th as Harvey failed to record an out before being yanked. His final line looked much different from his big-league debut in Arizona: 6+ IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 9 K, 110 P.
• Aside from a handful of guys, the Met offense couldn't get anything going against Randall Delgado and company: they had just one at-bat with RISP and left five men on base.

The Good Stuff:

• Eric Young, Daniel Murphy, and David Wright each had two hits, with Wright and Murph launching solo shots in the 4th and 8th respectively.
• Josh Satin reached the pinnacle of his hot streak with his first career home run, a solo shot in the 4th to put New York up 2-0.
• Paid attendance was 41,257. Not all of them returned after the two-hour rain delay, but a combination of Harvey Day and pre-Fourth of July produced one of Citi Field's biggest crowds of the season.

Final Analysis:
Limited as they were, the New York offense did their job in getting Matt Harvey a multi-run cushion. It was Harvey who didn't hold up his end of the deal tonight.

I saw this photo manipulation on MetsBlog earlier today, and it makes me think that we may be putting too much pressure on Harvey to be the savior of the franchise. Don't get me wrong, on the exterior he certainly takes it well, but it must be tough knowing that every time you step on a big-league mound the world expects you to throw a no-hitter.

A couple rainouts delayed it, but the Mets have officially reached the halfway point of the 2013 season, and their record stands at a fourth-place 34-45. Is it great? No, but isn't it what we expected? Recently they've gotten a lot better: with tonight's loss they've won 11 of their last 18. Keep winning at that clip for the rest of the year and they're in playoff contention. "Ya Gotta Believe," right?

MM

Game #72: Mets 8, Phillies 0

The offense the Amazin's had failed to put behind Matt Harvey came out all at once. The result: doublepalooza in Philadelphia.

(NYDailyNews.com)

David Wright slugged four extra-base hits, including two of the team's six doubles, as the Mets put the hammer to the Phillies, taking the series finale 8-0.

The Good Stuff:

• With NL All-Star voting winding down and his nemesis Pablo Sandoval injured, David Wright made his strongest push yet to start in his home ballpark. Wright went 4-5 with a pair of doubles, a triple, a solo home run, two runs, and two RBIs to give the game its final margin.
• The visitors were beneficiaries of a controversial call in the 5th inning.
• Juan Lagares appeared to fly out to center fielder Ben Revere for out number one, but in the process of a quick transfer from glove hand to throwing hand, Revere was ruled to have lost possession of the ball and Lagares was awarded a three-base error.
• Sensing the opportunity to pad his own lead, Matt Harvey seized the chance two batters later with a double to the gap in right center, scoring Lagares.
• On the very next pitch, Eric Young laced his own two-batter into the left field corner to plate Harvey.
• Wright broke it open two batters later by smashing his second double of the game, this one to around the same spot as Harvey's and missing clearing the fence by a few feet.
• Lagares had an RBI double of his own later in the game, and Marlon Byrd drove in a couple runs with a couple of his own hits of the two-base variety.
• Matt Harvey usually makes due with two or three runs behind him, so with the pressure of a close game lifted, he was able to completely subdue the non-Phightin' Phils through six innings, allowing two hits and a walk against six strikeouts. He was removed after just 72 pitches due to a short rain delay, giving him a little extra rest before his next outing, which I'm sure both he and the Mets are grateful for.
• Harvey's presence was hardly missed in the last three innings, as LaTroy Hawkins and Brandon Lyon shepherded the New Yorkers to three scoreless innings, retiring nine of 10 batters on the way to preserving the shutout.

The Bad Stuff:

• With a 1-5 day at the plate, Daniel Murphy's batting average continued to drop, finishing the day at .271. Murph has hit under .200 for the month of June, effectively removing him from from All-Star contention.

Final Analysis:
Except for a narrow blemish yesterday afternoon, this was a very impressive series for the New York Mets, who have won six of their last nine games. The bats have been producing overall and in the clutch, and the bullpen for the most part was rock solid. Matt Harvey's dominance elevated a very ordinary showing from the starting pitchers. Starting pitching is usually clearly the Mets' strong point, but if the team can win two out of three and push the third to the absolute limit with just average starting pitching, they will be in very good shape.

After sleepwalking through the couple weeks after the Subway Series, the Mets have woken up in a big way. Will they elevate their performance to playoff contention? Almost positively not. But the New York Mets are playing good baseball right now, and I hope the fans are taking notice.

MM

Game #54: Marlins 11, Mets 6

From "We. Swept. The. Yankees." to "Swept. By. The. Marlins." A great week for the punctuation industry, I suppose.

Matt Harvey was ineffective and so was every pitcher who followed him as the Mets lost their third straight to the Marlins, 11-6.

If you want to relive the misery with me, you can read my extended recap for the day on Rising Apple.

For those of you who want the short version, Parks and Recreation's Chris Traeger delivers my message for the day to the Mets:

MM

Game #49: Mets 2, Yankees 1

Who would have guessed that whole "Mariano Rivera throws out the first pitch" thing turned out to be a scouting strategy?

(NYTimes.com)

The Mets got three hits off the Sandman in his final appearance in Flushing, as Lucas Duda's walk-off single led his team to another 2-1, come-from-behind victory over the Yankees.

The Good Stuff:

• Down 1-0 in the 9th, things looked bleak for the NL New Yorkers as they faced the greatest closer of all-time, who at age 43 still shows no sign of slowing down. But just for one night, Mariano Rivera looked like a man on the precipice of retirement, as he blew a save for the first time all season.
• Daniel Murphy led off with the Mets' only extra-base hit of the night, a double down the left field line. That brought up David Wright, who lined a shot just out of reach of the shortstop (and just inches behind the baserunning Murphy). Murph raced around and beat the throw from centerfielder Brett Gardner (who robbed him of another long hit tonight - a second last laugh), and Wright went to second when the throw ricocheted off Murphy and to the backstop. Up came Lucas Duda, who took a jamming 1-1 cutter and looped it into right field to score Wright and send the paid Citi Field crowd of 31,877 into a frenzy. It was the Big Dude's first walk-off hit since he did it off Heath Bell in August 2011, and it earned him not one but TWO whipped cream pies in the face (Ruben Tejada joined Justin Turner for the double take).
• "Attention, patrons: tonight, the part of jilted Mets ace will be played by Matt Harvey, who will allow just one run on six hits in eight sparkling innings, walking none and striking out 10 on 114 pitches. Unfortunately for the young Mr. Harvey, he will be stacked with yet another no-decision. Better than a loss, though. Carry on."
• Murphy, Wright, and Duda each had two hits, combining for six of the team's seven on the night.
• Scott Rice tossed a scoreless 9th for his third W of the season.

The Bad Stuff:

• If hitters #2-4 picked up six of seven hits, it means that hitters #1 and #5-9 combined to produce only one. That was Rick Ankiel, by the way.
• Ike Davis went 0-3 with two more strikeouts, restarting talk of an extended weekend in Las Vegas. At least he'll get to see Bradley Cooper.
• Ruben Tejada was picked off second base to end the 6th when umpire Reid Brignac changed his call mid-motion. Terry Collins went out to argue and was promptly rejected when he did his best "Lou Pinella bobblehead" impression.

Final Analysis:
Some of the finest Mets wins come at the expense of the New York Yankees, and the finest of the fine are when our scrappy bunch is able to chip off a bit of gold dust from the golden closer. You already know this is going to be one of our Top Ten Wins of the Year. That was fun. That was a fun game.

And this is turning out to be a very fun Subway Series! Tomorrow the Mets and their fans hop on the 4-Train and take this orange-and-blue-a-thon to the House That Sits Next To Where The House That Ruth Built Is Now A Parking Lot. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue.

MM

Weekly Recap, May 6-12

It's been a rough week for both my team and myself. Fortunately for me, after dealing with the cable company, a wireless router, and some nasty adware, I'm back up to full-speed. I wish the fix was as easy for the New York Mets. Here's what you missed this week on Midwestern Met.

Team Record: 2-4 (14-20 overall)
May 7-8, White Sox Series: T, 1-1
May 9-12, Pirates Series: L, 1-3

The Bad Stuff:

• Aside from Matt Harvey and Dillon Gee, the New York starting staff was, to put it nicely, sub-par. Jeremy Hefner, Shaun Marcum, and Jonathon Niese were shelled at the hands of the Chicago and Pittsburgh bats.
• The New York offense didn't fare much better, scoring fewer than three runs in every game on the homestand.
• Jordany Valdespin had some trouble in the Pittsburgh series, getting plunked on Saturday for admiring his home run in a blowout the night before. While his teammates supported them all they could within the baseball code, JV1 didn't quite understand why New York wouldn't retaliate for what he saw as a "baseless" beaning.

The Good Stuff:

• Matt Harvey, period. He came about as perfect as a pitcher can come without actually doing it, allowing a little dribbler of an infield hit on Tuesday that was the only blemish on a nine-inning, no-walk, 12 strikeout performance. While he wasn't nearly as good on Sunday, his numbers (two runs in seven innings) should have been good enough for the win. Instead of 6-0, though, he's stuck on 4-0. At least none of those was an L.
• Dillon Gee pitched well in his Thursday start, allowing a single run in five innings of work.
• The Whitestone Kid, Mike Baxter, made a name for himself during the week with two walk-off hits, a single in the 10th that broke the Tuesday tie with the Sox, and a 9th-inning base knock that offed the Pirates in the series opener. He was the recipient of two, count 'em, TWO, whipped cream pies in the face courtesy of Justin Turner (Buck would have broken his face for sure on the second).
• Juan Legares flashed his glove on multiple occasions, saving a home run on Thursday and coming up with a nifty shoestring-then-dive to help Harvey out on Sunday.

Final Analysis:
That Saturday's 11-2 blowout was on Banner Day was appropriate, as this was a Banner Week for all that is wrong with the Mets so far. The most disappointing slumps belong to Ike Davis (so painful to watch a repeat of 2012), Jonathon Niese (Opening Day starter and anchor of the staff coming into the season), and Daniel Murphy (should have been an All-Star starter with his start).

Still, as my boss over at Rising Apple points out, didn't we expect this from the beginning? Didn't w know this year was a wash on the road to contention? We know 2014 is when things will start to get better, so should we really be concerned that the team is under-preforming in 2013? In a way, no we shouldn't; the heart of the matter is that the Mets just don't have enough good ballplayers. They're temporary fixes, never meant to be part of the big picture. Rick Ankiel may not be the most desirable pickup, but he's only meant to be a stopgap on the way to better things.

The only thing I can see that would be of concern is the sheer quantity of holes in the lineup. We knew the bullpen and outfield would be trouble, but now that the starting rotation and infield have started faltering, that may be something to raise an eyebrow at. Their slumps will probably slide, but it's something to keep an eye on.

Either way, all Mets fans can do now is take it one day at a time, root for the guys, and remember that in the grand scheme of things baseball should be a source of happiness. It's up to us to find it.

MM

Game #24: Marlins 4, Mets 3 (15)

A long night was made much too long, and in the end it was New York that ended up on the long side.

The Mets blew leads in the 9th and 15th innings, falling to the Marlins in a sparsely-attended series opener, 4-3.

The Bad Stuff:

• Up 2-1 in the 9th, Bobby Parnell gave up a long leadoff double to Justin Ruggiano. Collin Cowgill misplayed a Rob Brantly single to send Ruggiano to third, and then he came home on a Nick Green sac fly, resulting in Parnell's second blown save in four opportunities.
• A long stalemate was broken in the 15th by a Ruben Tejada base hit, the Mets' first and only hit with runners in scoring position. The team went 1-18 in that particular category, stranding 14 men on base.
• Entering into his unusual second inning of relief work, Shaun Marcum got a quick first out of Placido Polanco. It was the last out he would get on the night. Greg Dobbs singled, Ruggiano walked, and the tying and winning runs came home on a Brantly single and a Green sac fly. Game, set, match.

The Good Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• While he ran his pitch count up early on, Matt Harvey was in line for his fifth W, allowing a run on seven hits in 5.1 innings, walking two and striking out seven on a career-high 121 pitches.
• John Buck blasted his ninth home run of the season into Miami's kitschy home run sculpture in the 4th inning. The RBIs were Buck's 24th and 25th of April.
• Justin Turner and Ruben Tejada each had three hits on the night.

Final Analysis:
The moral of the story: you can't win a game on productive outs. The Mets had far too many productive outs last night. It didn't work.

MM

Game #15: Mets 7, Nationals 1

The mantra of tonight's ballgame was "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better." It was a running theme in both the inter- and intra-squad contests.

Ike Davis and Lucas Duda each went yard twice to help Matt Harvey and the Mets beat Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals, 7-1.

The Good Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• In the first edition of a matchup that will define the next decade in the National League East, Matt Harvey outdueled Stephen Strasburg to become the first four-game winner in the majors. Harvey gave up a single run on 4 hits in 7 innings, walking 3 and striking out 7 on 105 pitches. After getting into trouble in his final frame (walk, single, single + run, error to lead the bases), the Harv buckled down to strike out Kurt Suzuki, get Roger Bernadina to pop up behind the plate, and forced a groundout by Denard Span to end the threat and earn a hearty handshake from the manager.
• On a night when there were fireworks on the mound, there were just as many at the plate for the team from New York. Ike Davis took Strasburg's first pitch of the 6th inning and deposited it in the left center stands to end a home slump and make it 3-0 home team. Two batters later, Lucas Duda had what Ike was having and blasted a solo home run to dead center. The knockout punch to Harvey-Strasburg I resulted in a resounding chorus of "HARVEY'S BETTER!" from the Citi Field crowd.
• After David Wright led off the 8th with a triple against Washington's Drew Storen, Davis continued his mojo and shot a rocket off the Pepsi Porch in right field. Two batters later,
• Scott Rice and Bobby Parnell each delivered 1-2-3 innings in relief, with Rice sitting down Bryce Harper and company in the 8th and Parnell nailing it down in the 9th for the bounceback win.

The Bad Stuff:

• Harvey and John Buck were having a bit of miscommunication in about the middle of his start, but it got worked out just fine.

Final Analysis:
With Dwight Gooden in the house, Matt Harvey was a Doctor on the mound. Harvey electrified the Flushing faithful in a way not seen since No-Han. But unlike Johan Santana's triumphant night, many, many repeat performances are expected in this case. The future is now for the Mets' budding ace, and this time the world is taking notice.

In other news, Davis and Duda showed more than just signs of life at the plate, giving fans a glimpse of what could become the next Bash Brothers duo (minus the 'roids, of course). If the D&D Boys can keep swinging like that, New York should regularly compete even with a weakened bullpen.

To make a long story short: great game. That is all.

MM

Game #7: Mets 7, Phillies 2

On a night when national eyes were looking forward to an Ace on the hill, they got him. Just not the one they were expecting.

Matt Harvey lambasted the Phillies for seven innings and the Mets shelled Roy Halladay in a little more than four, taking the series opener in Philadelphia by a decisive 7-2 margin.

The Good Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• Matt Harvey was pure electric under the lights at Citizens Bank Park, allowing a single earned run on 3 hits in 7 innings, walking 2 and striking out 9 on 110 pitches. Through two starts this season, Mr. Harvey has put a dent in the National League, sporting a 0.64 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings.
• Mets fans have been used to seeing Roy Halladay do to them what Matt Harvey did to Philly tonight. But if revenge is a dish best served cold, New York was ready to bust out a Carvel ice cream cake.
• Marlon Byrd continued the party he started yesterday with a one-out double in the 2nd. After Lucas Duda was hit by the pitch, the red-hot John Buck went wild once again, hammering a three-run homer to the opposite field. Buck's 12 RBIs through 7 games are a franchise record, topping the great Darryl Strawberry's mark of 11 ribbys in 1987, and the Mets matched another '87 team record by leaving the yard in its first seven games.
• Duda added another run in the 3rd inning with a single to score Daniel Murphy. Then in the 5th, Murphy creamed a ground-rule double and came in on David Wright's single. Ike Davis chased Halladay with a single of his own, then four batters later with the bases loaded and two out, Ruben Tejada fought back from 0-2 against Chad Durbin to poke a full count single into left to plate two more runs. When the dust had settled, the New Yorkers had themselves a comfortable 7-1 lead.
• Josh Edgin allowed a run and a hit in two relief innings but was able to finish the game, giving the rest of the bullpen a nice night off.

The Bad Stuff:

• The leadoff spot in the Mets' order was the only one to go hitless on the night: Kirk Nieuwenhuis started and went 0-3 with a strikeout, and Collin Cowgill didn't fare much better in his two at-bats, striking out once as well.

Final Analysis:
Once a house of horrors for the rest of the NL East, Citizens Bank Park is suddenly becoming a home away from home for the New York Mets, who dominated from start to finish in their first game back in a venue they went 7-2 in last season. The future is now for Matt Harvey, who looked every bit the ace he is expected to be. John Buck continues to light it up for his new team; at this rate he'll match the production of a certain former #44 by the end of the month. All-in-all a phenomenal win in front of a national television audience, who know now the Mets' best days are ahead of them.

MM

Game #2: Mets 8, Padres 4

The awkward off day did nothing to deter New York's early-season power serge. If anything, it helped to kickstart the power behind three of its most important youngsters.

Matt Harvey picked up right where he left off in 2012 with a sensational start, and monumental home runs from Lucas Duda and Ike Davis provided the spark for the Mets, who held off the Padres late to win 8-4.

The Good Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• In the last start of his rookie season, Matt Harvey tossed a brilliant one-hitter against the Phillies. In the first start of his sophomore season, he was even better, turning in 7 one-hit shutout innings with just two walks and a whopping 10 strikeouts on 94 pitches.
• Unlike Harvey's 2012 finale, the New York offense got him a steady supply of run support throughout the game.
• Lucas Duda opened the scoring with a two-run rocket shot in the 2nd inning that reached the Pepsi Porch in a hurry.
• Duda managed another extra-base hit, a double, in the 4th inning, coming home three pitches later when John Buck took Clayton Richard to the opposite field for his first home run in a Met uniform, which made it 4-0.
• In the bottom of the 5th, David Wright chopped a hard groundball into the left field corner, scoring Daniel Murphy from first to make it 5-0. The Captain went to third base on the throw, meaning it would only take slumping Ike Davis a flyball to score.
• Well, ol' Ike hit a flyball all right. One that kept flying, and flying, and flying...all the way to the Shea Bridge. The Home Run Apple did its thing for the third time, and after an RBI single by Buck to score Marlon Byrd later in the inning, the Mets had a resounding 8-0 lead.

The Bad Stuff:

• Just like in Harvey's last start, however, the New York bullpen threatened to derail the whole shebang. Greg Burke let the shutout get away in the 8th inning and San Diego got three runs in the 9th off 40-year-old LaTroy Hawkins (albeit only one was earned)
• Hawkins's two unearned runs came as consequence of Ruben Tejada's second error in two days. He made up for it with a nice play to end the game.

Final Analysis:
What else is there to say about Matt Harvey? We're watching an ace develop right before our eyes. With Johan Santana out of the picture and the title of Team Ace up for grabs, Harvey could have it secured by the end of the summer. Lucas Duda has such potential at the plate; it was extraordinarily encouraging to see Big Dude get not just one but two extra-base hits. His Pepsi Porch home run would've been the talk of the town if not for Ike Davis's Shea Bridge moon shot in the 5th. Ike struggled mightily on Opening Day, so it was nice to see him get off the schneid.

The first two games of 2013 have gone about as well as they could have for the Mets: the starters have been locked in, the bullpen hasn't fallen apart yet, and the offense has been on a tear with 19 runs in two games. New York can do a lot for its early-season momentum by finishing off the Padres tomorrow afternoon.

MM