WASHINGTON — Matt Harvey was the luckiest man inside the Beltway on Tuesday.
Already in the doghouse with many fans, the stud right-hander’s brutal outing became an afterthought, following the Mets’ 8-7 come from behind victory over the Nationals.
“I was frustrated with my performance, but overall we won the game and that’s huge,” Harvey said after surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks over 5 ¹/₃ innings.
Manager Terry Collins said Harvey tried too hard.
“I think he was out there trying to show everybody who he is and I think he overthrew a little bit,” Collins said. “We’ll get him ready for whenever he is going to pitch again and hopefully he relaxes and has a better night.”
Still unclear is when the Mets will see Harvey back on the mound. Harvey pushed his innings total to 171 ²/₃ for the season and is expected to pitch at least one more time in the regular season, but general manager Sandy Alderson declined to say whether he and Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras, had found common ground on the matter.
The controversy started last week when Boras questioned the Mets’ usage of Harvey in his first season removed from Tommy John surgery and said the pitcher should be capped at 180 innings, according to Harvey’s surgeon, Dr. James Andrews.
Harvey at first wouldn’t commit publicly to pitching in the playoffs, should the Mets get there, but on Sunday — after severe backlash from the fans — wrote in the Players’ Tribune that he intends to pitch in the postseason.
A club official dismissed a report saying the team might use Harvey for 50-60 pitches per start in the playoffs and only once in a postseason series.
“How would that work?” the team official said. “You would need another pitcher to piggyback [Harvey] and if you’re going to do that, you might as well just have the other guy start and let Harvey pitch the seventh inning.”
What next?
“I’m ready with whatever they decide,” Harvey said. “Whenever they decide to throw me back out there I’m going to be ready.”
Collins said the challenge will be keeping Harvey sharp in limited appearances heading into a potential playoff appearance.
“I still believe Matt Harvey deep inside wants to pitch and we’ll decide when he wants to pitch again,” Collins said. “I know he wants to pitch and wants to pitch in October, but we’re going to need him to get there.”
