Marlins Struggling As They Take On The Mets Friday
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MIAMI (AP) -- Matt Harvey had been his dominant self since returning this season from Tommy John surgery, though he finally looked vulnerable his last time out.
He'll try to bounce back from the worst outing of his career when the New York Mets host the struggling Miami Marlins on Friday night.
Harvey (5-2, 2.91 ERA) surrendered seven runs over four innings, both career highs, in an 8-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday. He allowed two home runs, just the third time in 45 starts he's given up multiple homers.
"Everything was kind of all over the place," he said. "I wasn't locating obviously. My arm feels fine, my body feels fine. It was one of those days where if I tried to spin it, it was over the middle. If I tried to throw a fastball in, it was away and vice versa. It's just a pretty terrible outing."
Harvey had posted a 1.23 ERA in his previous five starts.
"You still have to realize, he's first back from the operation," manager Terry Collins said. "He's looked so good and we just get so carried away that he's never going to have a bad day that when he does, it's shocking for us all."
Harvey beat Miami 7-6 on April 19, giving up four runs over six innings. Lack of offense has plagued him recently, as he's gone winless in his last four starts with the Mets providing him one run of support in five straight.
He went without a victory in five straight outings once, from May 22-June 13, 2013.
The Mets (27-21) look capable of backing him more effectively after scoring 18 runs in a three-game sweep of Philadelphia following a 1-5 slump in which they totaled 11. Daniel Murphy is 13 for 25 during a seven-game hitting streak and Lucas Duda has five home runs in his last six games. Michael Cuddyer was 5 for 10 with five RBIs and three walks against the Phillies.
New York has won five of seven meetings with Miami this year and 13 of 17 matchups at home.
The Marlins (18-30) have dropped 14 of 17 overall and six of seven on the road, scoring three or fewer runs in those six defeats. They're 2-9 under manager Dan Jennings.
The bullpen allowed all of Miami's runs in the seventh inning of Wednesday's 5-2 loss at Pittsburgh, squandering five strong innings by spot starter Brad Hand.
"I still believe in these guys," Jennings said. "There's a heck of a lot of talent out there that's showing positive things. But you have to execute pitches in situations to get the outs and shut down innings like that when they're getting away from you."
Giancarlo Stanton, 6 for 40 with 13 strikeouts in his last 11 games, is 1 for 9 with four strikeouts against Harvey.
Dan Haren (4-2, 3.09) comes off a strong outing, yielding six hits over six innings of a 1-0 victory over Baltimore on Saturday.
The right-hander has pitched at least six-plus innings while yielding one or no runs in three of his last four starts against the Mets, going 3-1.
Cuddyer has batted .407 in his last 16 meetings with the Marlins, though he's 6 for 31 against Haren.
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