Matt Harvey Shows Ace Stuff, Hits 99 On Gun In First Game Back
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Six up, six down. Three strikeouts and 99 on the gun.
You couldn't ask for a better return for New York Mets ace Matt Harvey.
The 25-year-old right-hander was electric in his first start since August 2013, when he was diagnosed with a partially torn elbow ligament that would eventually require Tommy John surgery. Harvey tossed 25 pitches in two perfect innings against the Detroit Tigers, throwing all his pitches for strikes and touching 99 mph in the second inning.
"I felt like I never left," Harvey said. "I could tell the ball was coming out good. I think, like I said last time, I let a few go. For the most part, I was really trying to stay loose and hit my spots and felt pretty confident."
His last start was more than 18 months ago -- on Aug. 24, 2013 against the Tigers. Harvey said having such good command this early in spring training is a major positive.
"The big thing was I was happy with throwing strikes and not walking anybody. Those are the things you try to work on," he said. "That was the big thing I was focusing on today, and I was pretty happy about it."
Harvey went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 2013 and was named the National League's starting pitcher in the All-Star Game at Citi Field.
The New York Post reported earlier this week that he will likely make his first regular-season start on April 9 against the Nationals in Washington.
The Mets went on to win Friday's game 5-4 on Matt Reynolds' walk-off homer in the ninth. Curtis Granderson went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Daniel Murphy was struck on the right hand by a David Price fastball. Murphy was taken for X-rays, but Mets manager Terry Collins, though concerned, said the training staff felt it was just a bruise.
