Games #66 & #67: Mets 4-6, Braves 3-1

Mets fans have been waiting 23 months for this day, and its two main actors did not disappoint.

(NYDailyNews.com)

Matt Harvey took a third no-hit bid into the 7th inning and the Mets held on to give him a 4-3 win over the Braves in the first game of the doubleheader. In the second game, late offense propped up Zack Wheeler's stellar big league debut in a 6-1 Mets victory.

The Good Stuff:

(NYDailyNews.com)

• Matt Harvey technically finished up statistically worse than his last start in which he lost his first game of the year, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks in seven-plus innings. But no one would argue that this start was an electric one: he struck out a career-high 13 batters and took his third no-hit bid of the season into the 7th inning, only to see it lost on a Jayson Heyward infield single that Lucas Duda failed to cover first base for.
• The major difference for Harvey in this one was that he actually got run support: John Buck's solo home run in the 4th highlighted a day in which the Mets scored four runs, or double what they had put behind Harvey in his past two starts combined.
• After LaTroy Hawkins and Scott Rice almost spoiled another decision for Harvey, Bobby Parnell came on for a clutch four-out save, his 10th of the season. The victory was Harvey's sixth and first in a month.
• Following a stellar opening act, the baseball world watched the pilot of The Zack Wheeler Show. And call it a hunch, but I think it's gonna get picked up. Wheeler dazzled the hometown faithful (Smyrna, GA is 16 miles outside Atlanta) with six scoreless innings and seven strikeouts in his big-league debut. He was far from perfect, issuing five walks to go along with his four hits, but he showed veteran poise by getting out of jams in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th frames.
• Like Mets veterans already know, Wheeler had to be as perfect as possible, as he was still locked in a scoreless tie after the 6th. But Josh Satin led off the 7th with a single, and Anthony Recker blasted a two-run homer to put some runs behind his battery mate. Brandon Lyon ran into some trouble in the bottom of the 7th but eventually got out of it with a one-run New York lead in tact.
• With two other one-run games in the rear view mirror from the same calendar day, the midsection of the Mets order decided it was time to relieve their fans of any potential heart palpitations. Marlon Byrd started things with a two-out double and then scored on a pickoff attempt-turned-double error. Then after a walk by Satin and single by Recker, Juan Lagares laced a single to left to score one. Omar Quintanilla followed with a hard grounder into right to plate two more runs, making it a much-more comfortable 6-1 lead for Wheeler and company.
• And just like that, with a Josh Edgin strikeout of Freddie Freeman, Queens's newest hope had his first major league W.

The Bad Stuff:

• The injury bug bit again: hours after Justin Turner landed on the DL with a strained left side, Scott Atchison appears to be headed back there too. Atchison left during his warmup in the 7th inning with a sore right groin, not even throwing a pitch before being replaced by Brandon Lyon.

Final Analysis:
In the words of my dad, who messaged me after the final out: "We've seen the future of the New York Mets, and its names are Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler." I know it's bad luck to look so far ahead, but can you blame me? Mets fans have been wallowing through five years of mediocre baseball, and now we finally have some rays of hope for the long-term future. Should all go according to The Plan, we'll look back on this day, June 18, 2013, as the day it all started.

MM

P.S. The Mets may finally have a leadoff man, as they have acquired outfielder Eric Young, Jr. from the Rockies in exchange for Collin McHugh. Good news all around today!

(MetsBlog.com)

Game #11: Mets 4, Twins 2

(NYDailyNews.com)

When Justin Morneau's high fly ball in the 7th clanked off the right field foul pole, it knocked the wind out of New Yorkers watching for a slice of history. For the man on the mound, however, it wasn't more than a kink in his latest pitching masterpiece.

Matt Harvey flirted with a no-hitter for almost seven innings and the Mets' big bang in the 5th gave him his third win of the season, 4-2 over the Twins.

The Good Stuff:

• The future continues to be now for Matt Harvey, who for 6.2 innings was literally unhittable. A solo home run by the aforementioned Morneau ended his bid for history, but Harvey fought on through eight outstanding innings, allowing just one more hit, walking two and striking out six on 107 pitches.
• Harvey's effort was also a first for Mets fans: while the breakup of the no-hitter may have been disappointing, it was the first time we were not obligated to turn grudgingly and say, "Not today, boss." It's a good feeling. Thanks, Johan Santana.
• Still scoreless after four frames, Marlon Byrd broke the ice with a solo bomb off Scott Diamond to the second deck in left field to lead off the 5th. That blast opened the floodgates for a single, single, and double by Ike Davis (thrown out trying to stretch it into a dobule), Justin Turner, and Ruben Tejada. Collin Cowgill, Daniel Murphy, and David Wright followed with run-scoring singles each, and all of a sudden the visitors were up 4-0.
• It was all the offense they needed. Bobby Parnell gave up a run on a couple doubles but ultimately locked down Minnesota in the bottom of the 9th for his first save of the season.

The Bad Stuff:

• John Buck went hitless for the first time in recent memory, going 0-4.

Final Analysis:
Long story short: this Harvey guy's pretty good. We've got a lot to look forward to.

MM