FISH OFF THE HOOK
HARVEY OUTDUELED BY FERNANDEZ
MIAMI — No way, Jose. Matt Harvey gave his team a second straight superb performance Sunday, but Jose Fernandez facing this makeshift Mets lineup might as well have been a chainsaw dissecting a two-by-four.
“We saw two aces duel on the mound, and that is what they are supposed to do,” catcher Rene Rivera said after the Mets were denied a three-game sweep with a 1-0 loss to the Marlins.
Fernandez (9-2) matched a career high with 14 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings in which he surrendered four hits. It was the fifth time this season Fernandez, who has won eight straight starts, reached double-digits in strikeouts.
Harvey (4-8) can probably be considered back on track, after allowing one run on four hits over seven innings. It followed his seven-inning gem against the White Sox last Monday in which he allowed only two hits over seven shutout innings.
Harvey’s ERA dropped to 4.95, after peaking at 6.08 two weeks ago. The worst certainly appears over for him.
“I thought he really pitched today,” manager Terry Collins said. “He moved the ball around and we saw him pitch inside. He made very few mistakes. I thought he threw the ball great.
“He felt good about what he did today, how he got through it, and cut the damage down and pitched great.”
Harvey wasn’t ready to pronounce himself back at his 2015 level, but was relieved to have a second straight strong start.
“The massive struggles you had before, the only thing you want to think of is not letting that kind of creep back in,” he said. “Today was, I guess you could say, a second step. But going deep into the game and feeling pretty good, it’s definitely a positive.
“When you’ re out t here and you don’ t feel great with any sort of pitch it can be discouraging, but the last two starts and in between starts everything has been feeling really good, so it’ s definitely positive, but there is still work.”
Yoenis Cespedes was absent from the starting lineup for the second straight day with a sore right hip — he made a pinch-hitting appearance in the eighth — and Juan Lagares was unavailable because of a sprained left thumb (he will be examined in New York on Monday).
It left Collins to start struggling Alejandro De Aza in the leadoff spot, sliding Curtis Granderson to third. It was the first time this sea- son Granderson batted anywhere other than leadoff.
Including the pitcher, the Mets had five starters who began play batting less than .225.
The Mets’ best chance came in the seventh, when Michael Conforto and James Loney singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. Fernandez recovered to strike out Wilmer Flores, protecting the Marlins’ one-run lead.
J.T. Realmuto concluded Harvey’s scoreless streak at 11 innings with an RBI single in the f ifth. Derek Dietrich had just missed a homer, crushing a shot off the r i ght- f i el d fence for a double, before Realmuto delivered.
“I left a pitch over the plate and [Dietrich] got on second,” Harvey said. “Then I made a pretty good pitch to Realmuto and he hit it up the middle. In that situation, I wanted a ground ball, I got it, it just wasn’t at somebody.”
De Aza bunted for a two-out single in the sixth — the Mets’ first hit since Granderson’s double in the first — but Fernandez rebounded to strike out Asdrubal Cabrera.
“What [Fernandez] has done this year and what he’s done in the past, he’s tough,” Harvey said. “He was on. He had everything working and he pitched well.”
MIAMI — Daniel Murphy in an opposing uniform has already become old hat, but the Mets aren’t done with their Class of 2015 reunion tour
The next stop is Pittsburgh, where Jon Niese is scheduled to pitch against the Mets on Monday at PNC Park.
Niese told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he’s excited to face the Mets.
“Our senses are going to be heightened,” Niese said. “They’re going to want me, I’m gonna want them. But it’s all about execution.”
“It’s going to be weird — he looks weird on TV — so it’s definitely going to be weird when he’s pitching against us,” Wilmer Flores said after the Mets lost 1-0 to the Marlins on Sunday. “But we kind of have an idea of what he’s got, so it’s going to be interesting.”
The Mets traded Niese to the Pirates on Dec. 9 in a deal for Neil Walker, who has emerged as an important piece of the lineup. Niese, who is 5-2 with a 4.36 ERA, has added depth to a Pirates rotation that has largely underachieved this season.
Walker was available in the deal because he was entering his final arbitration year and could become a free agent following the 2016 season.
Manager Terry Collins said it appears to be a trade that has benefited both teams.
“Certainly looks like it on our side for sure,” Collins said, referring to Walker’s 13 home runs. “Neil has come in and played absolutely great for us and I know Jon has gotten off to a good start for them, so I am sure both teams are happy with the way it has turned out.”
Walker, a Pittsburgh native who was drafted by the Pirates in 2004, will have his own reunion, returning to PNC Park.
“It will be emotional,” Walker said. “Certainly, you spend 12 years of your life in one spot, it’s going to be strange to come back and be not on the home, but on the visiting side. It’s going to be a quick three days I think.”