Mets blog: Matt Harvey innings – drama is no more

Matt Harvey took a lot of flak in September when he and his agent (the infamous Scott Boras) suddenly declared there was a strict 180-inning limit for the young fireballer. He went from hero to zero in the eyes of many fans for a move that looked incredibly selfish. But as we often see in sports, getting results on the field is the ultimate panacea.

Harvey pitched 189.1 innings in the regular season, then started in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. He didn’t have his best stuff but managed to battle through it, going five innings while giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks. But he was seen in the dugout demanding to pitch the sixth inning, and although manager Terry Collins denied him, that proved to many that Harvey is not about to shut it down anytime soon.

When asked about his innings limit in relation to being slated to start two games in the NLCS, Harvey told reporters, “I think everybody kind of had enough talk and discussion about that whole ordeal, I’ll be the last person to ever bring that one up again.”

Harvey turned in a fantastic performance in the NLCS opener against the Cubs Saturday night (7.2 innings, four hits, two walks, two runs) before Jeurys Familia came in and shut the door for a 4-2 Mets win.

“He was absolutely on top of his game,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told the media when asked about Harvey, “his command was outrageous.”

The Mets hope Harvey will be just as good in Game 5 (if necessary) in Wrigley Field on Oct. 22.