Remember when the question of whether or not Matt Harvey would pitch for the New York Mets in September and October was a thing? The Chicago Cubs are probably wishing Harvey stuck to the innings limit that his agent, Scott Boras, wanted.
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On Saturday, Harvey reminded everyone of that. The right-hander pitched 7.2 innings (throwing 97 pitches) — his longest outing since Aug. 11 — allowing two runs and four hits, while striking out eight batters and walking two. He had an early lead to work with, thanks to another postseason home run from Daniel Murphy in the first inning. (Interestingly, all three of the left-handed Murphy’s home runs have come against lefty pitchers.)
The Cubs tied the score at 1-1 in the fifth inning, as Harvey hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch and Starlin Castro drove him in with a double. But the Mets were able to keep the Cubs to one run, thanks largely to left fielder Yoenis Cespedes throwing out Castro at home plate following a Javier Baez single. In the bottom half of the inning, the Mets got to Cubs starter with Jon Lester with three hits, taking the lead on a Curtis Granderson RBI single.
Travis d’Arnaud struck what ended up being the decisive blow in the sixth inning, launching a home run to deep center field that bounced off the Citi Field apple, giving the Mets a 3-1 lead.
Lester wasn’t all that effective for the Cubs, giving up four runs and eight hits in 6.2 innings. He notched five strikeouts and only walked one batter, but served up those home runs to Murphy and d’Arnaud that ultimately became the difference in the game.
Kyle Schwarber crushed a massive home run off Harvey in the eighth inning that drew the Cubs to within 4-2. That was enough for Mets manager Terry Collins to pull Harvey from the game and bring in closer Jeurys Familia for a four-out save. The Cubs twice brought the tying run to the plate, once in the eighth and again in the ninth, but Familia eventually closed out the Game 1 win for the Mets.
Harvey’s 7.2 frames pushed him to 202 innings overall this season. According to ESPN Stats and Info, that is the fifth-highest total for a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery. He obviously has a chance to move up that list if he starts another game in the NLCS, which seems likely, and will certainly pitch in the World Series if the Mets advance past the Cubs. Harvey’s doctors originally recommended a limit of 185 innings, which cast his ability to pitch in September and October in doubt. So much for that.
Collins announced before Game 1 that Noah Syndergaard would get the Game 2 start for the Mets on Sunday night. The Cubs will counter with their No. 1 guy, NL Cy Young Award candidate Jake Arrieta, who has won his first two postseason starts. First pitch is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on TBS.
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