Allen Kee / ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — Arm fatigue limited New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey to just four innings in a disappointing start Wednesday night, prompting the former ace to call the outing one of his lowest points, physically, this season.
Harvey surrendered four runs on three home runs to the Chicago Cubs, including a mammoth blast by slugger Kyle Schwarber.
Not sure what this baseball ever did to @kschwarb12 … #Crushed pic.twitter.com/3EQRJVCwrT
— MLB (@MLB) June 15, 2017
The 28-year-old righty underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome last year, having complained of numbness in his fingers. He is expected to meet with doctors on Thursday to determine whether his most recent issues are related to an injury or fatigue.
“My arm was just not working at all,” he told reporters after the game. “In past games, it’s taken a while to get loose and get warm. Obviously, since the surgery, that’s kind of been the issue. But tonight, it felt like it got loose and then it progressively just felt really tired.”
Members of the Mets’ coaching staff seemed concerned about Harvey when he through a few fastballs under 90 miles per hour in the third inning.
Manager Terry Collins said after the game “it would be one thing if Matt was at 91, 92…it’s another thing when it was at 89.”
Harvey struggled last season before his surgery, going 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA. This season, he began the year with four consecutive quality starts, before a stretch that saw him surrender 17 runs in three starts from April 27 through May 12.
He had seemed to improve recently, with four quality starts in his last five outings. But, Harvey has already allowed 16 home runs in just 70.1 innings. His career high is 18 home runs allowed — in 2015, over a span of 189.1 innings.
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.