Braves at Mets
The New York Mets know a healthy starting rotation is critical to their postseason hopes, so all eyes will be on Matt Harvey as the Mets host the Atlanta Braves in the rubber game of a three-game series Thursday. Harvey only made 17 starts before missing the final three months of the season following surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, and his fastball velocity has not returned yet to the mid-90s speed that helped him strike out 188 hitters in 189 1/3 innings in 2015.
The Mets have received two solid pitching performances from aces Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom in the opening two games of the series with the duo combining for 13 strikeouts and seven hits allowed in 12 scoreless innings. Atlanta also has received good starting pitching from Julio Teheran and Bartolo Colon in the series, allowing just one run on six hits in 12 innings with 12 strikeouts. The Braves have struggled offensively so far, going scoreless for the first 15 innings of the season and hitting 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Matt Kemp, the hottest Braves hitter so far, doubled three times Wednesday, including a two-run double in the 12th inning of Atlanta’s 3-1 victory.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), SNY (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves LH Jaime Garcia (2016: 10-13, 4.67 ERA) vs. Mets RH Matt Harvey (2016: 4-10, 4.86)
Garcia, the only left-hander in Atlanta’s rotation, looks to rebound after his ERA nearly doubled from 2015 (2.43) in his final season with St. Louis. The 30-year-old, who will be a free agent at season’s end, made 30 starts in 2016 after injuries limited him to just 56 starts in the previous four seasons. Garcia, who gave up nine earned runs in nine innings in a pair of losses to the Mets last season, finished spring training with a 3.20 ERA in 19 2/3 innings.
Harvey went 1-6 in his final 10 games with a 5.13 ERA and a .308 opponents batting average, a far cry from the pitcher who in 2015 won 13 games plus two more in the postseason as the Mets reached the World Series. He insisted he was healthy during spring training, despite allowing 12 earned runs on 23 hits in 18 1/3 innings in five starts. Harvey made four starts against Atlanta last season, going 1-2 with a 4.37 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman went 0-for-5 Wednesday, snapping a 12-game hitting streak against New York dating back to June 19, 2016.
2. New York 3B and leadoff hitter Jose Reyes is 0-for-9 with four strikeouts through two games.
3. Braves P Jose Ramirez has allowed only one hit with two walks and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings in the series.