Matt Harvey gives another impressive performance, setting the Mets record with 18 strikeouts in his first two starts and proves he’s here to stay. Showing us a different side, Harvey threw a lot more changeups than in his first start, relying on that pitch for most of his outing. I’m sure we can credit Dan Warthen with the change. He predominantly threw the heat in his debut. No doubt adrenaline played a role in that, but his second start gave us a different view. Harvey gave us versatility and proved he has what it takes to adapt and get big leaguers out, no matter what the pitch. He ran into trouble a few times, but kept his composure even when Ruben Tejada threw wide to first base in the 2nd inning on a double play ball, allowing two runs to score. Harvey was handed his first loss in the Majors against the Giants, but his exceptional pitching effort was not lost. Harvey represents the future of this organization and judging by his last two performances, I’d say we have some light shining through.

You just have to love his competitiveness:

“I don’t like to lose…Whether I’m pitching or whether I’m not, I don’t like to lose. It’s how I am. In my world, I would have thrown up more zeroes and kept us closer.”– Matt Harvey 

I love the attitude! You just have to respect the competitive nature he brings with him. But you’re on the Mets, Matt, so you should probably get used to losing. =/

ANOTHER PROSPECT ON THE RISE– Dare I say the Mets are doing a great job of building up for the future! Another impressive outing comes from another Mets pitching prospect- Zack Wheeler. He struck out 11 batters in 6 2/3 innings and fell just one shy of his career high. Yes, you read correctly! That says ELEVEN! This could be his final start in Double-A Binghamton with reports flying that he will be promoted to Triple-A Buffalo for his next start. In the same game, Frank Francisco took the mound for a rehab start, striking out the side in the 8th inning. Our injured closer is inching his way back to the Big Leagues.

UPDATE!!- Zack Wheeler has officially been promoted to Triple-A Buffalo! Congrats Zack! Keep up the progress! 

TONIGHT– Jon Niese goes for the Mets tonight in the third game of the series against the San Francisco Giants at 10:15PM on SNY.

The second half begins and the Mets get swept by the Braves- losing their prime second place position behind the Nats and their first series out the gate from break. They’re now 6.5 games back and already you can hear the so-called ‘whispers’ mounting. Just because we lost this series, does not mean the Mets are out of the race for the playoffs. Yes, I know we don’t exactly have a reputation for great second half play in the last few years, but as a Mets fan- YA GOTTA BELIEVE! 

There are a lot of negatives that I can sit here and list out, but we need to look at the positives. The Mets have been able to keep up with everyone in the NL East division with a pretty much home-grown team this season. Johan Santana has come back from shoulder surgery, went out on the mound almost every 5th day, and given us everything he’s been working on, including the FIRST NO-HITTER IN METS HISTORY. That’s more than anyone could have hoped for at the start of the season. R.A. Dickey came out of nowhere with this spectacular season of pitching and has even been mentioned as an NL Cy Young Award candidate. They’ve had some rough starts as of late, but that doesn’t negate what they’ve done or what they can do as the season goes on. David Wright has been scorching hot since the season began and even though we can’t expect him to carry the team, his offense and defense really have led this team and his career to a possible MVP season. Ruben Tejada has become one of my favorite players on the team. Have you seen his defense this season? Daniel Murphy, Jordany Valdespin, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, Kirk Nieuwenhuis…I can sit here and name almost the entire team, because everyone has stepped their game up to get us where we are. The passion and fight I’ve seen from the team this season makes me proud to say I’m a Met fan.

This series was NOT a sign that we are finished this season. We need to work even harder to show everyone we are not done yet. It’s ONLY 3 games into the second half, so let’s calm down critics!

FIRED UP! – Did anyone check out the game yesterday? It was worth watching them lose just to see pitching coach Dan Warthen get thrown out of the game because of two missed calls (and several questionable calls throughout the series) in the 5th inning against Santana. I was so pumped watching Warthen yell at the umpire! He definitely had reason after those two terrible calls, but I have NEVER seen him get so mad! He looks so mild tempered, haha! Terry Collins and David Wright both had to get in between him and the umpire. Sometimes it’s good to see coaches show such emotion!

OFF DAY– After a tough series, the Mets have an off day today. They’ll be back on the field tomorrow taking on the first place Nationals at Nationals Park with Jon Niese on the mound at 7:05 PM. Let’s Go Mets! (Let’s see those #LGM on Twitter!)

P.S.– Jason Bay is inching closer and closer to a return! Here’s to hoping he can get something together for us once he comes back!