PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets ace Matt Harvey is limping into the regular season.
Returning to the mound after dealing with a blood clot in his bladder, Harvey surrendered a three-run homer to Ryan Zimmerman while working the opening two innings of the New York Mets’ eventual 12-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Wednesday in both teams’ Grapefruit League finale.
The Mets (7-16-5) ended the Florida portion of their exhibition schedule winless in their final 13 games. They last won on St. Patrick’s Day against Jose Fernandez and the Miami Marlins. The Mets had been scoreless in 24 innings until Travis Taijeron’s solo homer against Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning. Washington finished 18-4-3.
“Certainly we didn’t swing the bats very good the last week,” manager Terry Collins said. “Is it a red flag? What do you want me to say? We didn’t have a good record in spring training. But in three more days, we’re 0-0. That’s all we’ll worry about.”
Taijeron, ticketed for Triple-A Las Vegas’ outfield, was named the organization’s John J. Murphy Award winner as the top performer in his first big-league camp. He hit .368 (14-for-38) with two homers and a team-high 11 RBIs.
A sign of their popularity after winning the National League pennant in 2015, the Mets averaged 6,897 spectators per home game during spring training. That marked a 13.3-percent increase over 2015, when they averaged 6,088.
“We certainly plan on giving them something exciting to watch all summer long, to where they’re going to continue to want to come out,” Collins said.
Despite the Mets raving early in camp about the late life on Harvey’s fastball and a rediscovered slider, he produced a 7.50 ERA during Grapefruit League play. After getting tagged for six runs in 3â…“ innings against minor leaguers from the St. Louis Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate on a back field on March 19, Harvey allowed six runs in three innings against the Houston Astros five days later. He then again stumbled against the Nationals.
Harvey, seemingly annoyed by the tabloid treatment of his bladder issue, declined to speak with reporters after his outing on Wednesday.
He was only scripted to pitch two innings because he will return on short rest to oppose Edinson Volquez in Kansas City on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. It will mark Harvey’s first career Opening Day start.
“You can say whatever you want; it’s still spring training,” Collins said. “We’ll worry about how he throws the ball on Sunday night.”
Even Noah Syndergaard, who had a brilliant spring training, briefly stumbled Wednesday. After a misplay in center field by Yoenis Cespedes placed Daniel Murphy at third base in the fourth inning, Jayson Werth followed with a two-run homer against Syndergaard that staked Washington to a 5-0 lead.
Syndergaard, the Game 2 starter against the Royals, allowed two runs on four hits in three innings to finish with a 2.61 ERA.
“I wasn’t really necessarily happy with how things went today,” said Syndergaard, who took over for Harvey to begin the third inning. “I just kind of felt a little out of whack, thrown out of my routine a little bit. But, overall, I feel like I have to be able to handle that adversity. I’ll be getting the ball back in six days. I’ll be ready to go then.”
The Mets got very sloppy in the ninth as closer Jeurys Familia also limped into the regular season. Third baseman Eric Campbell and Familia each committed errors in the final frame as Washington produced five runs (three earned) against Familia. The closer was pulled with two outs.
Collins trotted out what essentially will be his standard lineup in National League ballparks against right-handed pitching. Curtis Granderson led off, followed by David Wright, Cespedes, Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Michael Conforto, Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis d'Arnaud. The only unexpected wrinkle was Cabrera hitting ahead of d’Arnaud.
“Somebody’s got to hit there,” Collins said about d'Arnaud at No. 8. “Hopefully our lineup is deep enough to put good hitters there.”
What’s next: The Mets head to Las Vegas for a pair of exhibition games at the home of their Triple-A affiliate. Right-hander Paul Sewald will start for the Mets on Thursday at 8:05 p.m. ET against the Chicago Cubs. Jacob deGrom originally had been scheduled to pitch. DeGrom instead will be left behind to pitch in a minor league game in Port St. Lucie. That will allow him to remain close to his wife Stacey, who is due with the couple’s first child next Tuesday. Right-hander Ryan Williams is scheduled to start for the Cubs. Sewald, who is expected to open the season in the Pacific Coast League club’s bullpen, is a Las Vegas native. He went 3-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 44 relief appearances for Double-A Binghamton last season.
