The Mets found the cure for what was ailing Matt Harvey: facing the slumping White Sox. Harvey went out Monday afternoon and pitched seven shutout innings in New York's 1-0 win over Chicago, allowing two singles and striking out six. It's the first time this season he reached the seventh inning of a game and he needed just 87 pitches to get there.
Less than two weeks after being booed off the mound by fans at Citi Field folllowing the worst start of his career, Harvey was cheered and his name chanted by the crowd much like the days when he was at his apex.
The biggest reason for optimism from Monday's start? Harvey's fastball velocity was up, hitting 98 mph on multiple occasions.
 | @mike_petriello | |||||||
Through 5 innings, Matt Harvey's three hardest pitches of the season (98.5, 98.0, 97.9) have all come today.
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It's going to take more than one strong outing to quell all the concerns (the seven shutout innings only brought his ERA down to 5.37 in 11 starts), but it appears like this is a step in the right direction. A couple more like this, though, and those struggles will be forgotten.
For all the questions about Harvey, maybe it's the White Sox we should be worried about. Chicago has lost 15 of 19 after opening the season 23-10 and fallen out of first place in the American League Central. Here's your recurring reminder that the baseball season is a long one and a lot can change over the course of six months.
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