Matt Harvey's game has been off for most of 2016, but his mental tougnness can't be questioned.
Following the worst outing of his career last week against the Nationals, the Mets right-hander refused to skip his next start against the very same club. Without hesitation, Harvey is taking the mound Tuesday in the nation's capital.
In his last outing against the Nationals on Thursday, Harvey yielded a career-high nine runs (six earned) while lasting a career-low 2 2/3 innings. The Mets contemplated skipping one of his starts, but Harvey, who threw off the mound at Citi Field early on Saturday, wouldn't have it.
"Obviously it's frustrating being out there right now when you're not doing well and not helping the team," Harvey told ESPN. "As a teammate, your objective is to do everything you can to win games and help us succeed. And I wasn't doing that. So, obviously, they gave me an option to be skipped or whatnot and really try to figure things out. For me, taking time off isn't going to do anything. It's finding it on the mound."
Harvey was set to be the ace of the vaunted Mets rotation, which includes young flamethrower Noah Syndergaard, 2014 Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom, lights-out young lefty Steven Matz and the ageless Bartolo Colon. Zack Wheeler will join the rotation in July after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Though the 27-year-old right-hander has struggled to a 3-6 record with a 5.77 ERA, he isn't just set to throw in the towel.
"I'm not a quitter. I'm not going to just quit and put the ball down," Harvey said. "It's a fight. It was good for me to do that."
Harvey logged 216 innings last season as the Mets went all the way to the World Series, the most frames in history from a pitcher coming back from Tommy John surgery, which could be impacting him on the mound.
It's a huge start for Harvey as the Mets (26-18) enter their game against the Nationals (27-18) a half-game back heading into Tuesday after taking the series-opener, 7-1, on Monday.
"It's frustrating when you're going out there and I don't feel like I'm throwing the ball the way I'm supposed to and I'm getting knocked around," Harvey said. "It's an unsettling feeling."
