MIAMI (AP) — Matt Harvey came out on the short end of a pitcher’s duel Sunday, and for him that’s progress.
The New York Mets right-hander allowed only one run in seven innings, but Jose Fernandez was even better in the Miami Marlins’ 1-0 victory.
Harvey (4-8) pitched well for the second outing in a row after a succession of poor starts. He has lowered his ERA from 6.08 to 4.95.
“Going deep into the game and feeling pretty good, it’s definitely a positive,” Harvey said. “The massive struggles that happened before, the only thing you want to think of is not letting that kind of creep back in.”
Miami scored the only run in the fifth when Derek Dietrich doubled off the wall and J.T. Realmuto hit a one-out RBI single.
“I thought Matt really pitched today,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He moved the ball around, and you saw him pitch inside. He made very, very few mistakes. The ball up to Dietrich was probably the only mistake he made.”
Fernandez (9-2) tied a career high with 14 strikeouts in seven innings, and was well aware of the pitching matchup.
“I’m trying more to not think about who I’m pitching against,” he said. “But obviously Harvey was throwing the ball great. Fun to see him out there doing that stuff. I’m just excited and happy we got the win.”
Fernandez won his eighth consecutive start to tie Chris Hammond’s team record, set in the franchise’s first season in 1993. He allowed four hits, including consecutive two-out singles in the seventh.
When Fernandez escaped by striking out Wilmer Flores with his 100th and final pitch, he spun on the mound, pumped his arms and screamed in satisfaction as he walked to the dugout.
David Phelps, the losing pitcher Saturday, bounced back with a 1-2-3 eighth. A.J. Ramos pitched a perfect ninth for his 27th consecutive save, including 18 this year.
Neil Walker flied out to the warning track in center to end the game, and Ramos feared the ball might clear the fence.
“As soon as he hit I went, ‘No way,'” Ramos said. “I thought he got it. I was a little nervous on that one.”
The Mets’ starting lineup was without outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Juan Lagares, both nursing injuries, and captain David Wright, who went on the disabled list Friday. Cespedes, slowed by a sore right hip, flied out as a pinch hitter in the eighth.
New York finished with four hits, Miami five.
“It was one of those game where you have a great pitching match-up head to head, and that’s exactly what you would expect — a 1-0 game,” Collins said.
Marlins right fielder Ichiro Suzuki robbed Michael Conforto with a leaping catch on the warning track in the fifth. Fernandez showed his appreciation with a wave of the cap to his 42-year-old teammate.
“He told me, ‘Routine flyball,'” Fernandez said with a smile.
That play helped Fernandez retire 15 in a row as the Mets’ frustration grew. When Asdrubal Cabrera struck out to end the sixth, he angrily slapped his bat toward the dugout.
“Tough day at the plate,” Conforto said. “It’s always going to be tough when you’re going up against a guy like him.”
DAY OFF
Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who is 8 for 73 (.110) in his past 21 games, who given the day off.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: Lagares sprained his left thumb when he made a diving catch Saturday, and it was heavily wrapped. “There’s a little bit of swelling but no pain,” he said. He was to be further evaluated Monday.
UP NEXT
The Mets open a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Monday, with LHP Steven Matz (7-1, 2.60) scheduled to start against LHP Jon Niese (5-2, 4.36).
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