The New York Mets have cleared their young ace, Matt Harvey, for his next start on Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals, according Mets manager Terry Collins, via a tweet from ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. Harvey left yesterday’s start against the NL East rival Miami Marlins, and it was a slightly scary moment for Mets fans. He seemed to be ailing his lower back and was pulled in the eighth inning of what was another good start from Harvey to that point. The Marlins got off just one run and six hits with six strikeouts on Harvey in seven innings of work before the injury scare.
The great news is that Harvey has been cleared, and all he suffered from was lower back tightness. He was expected to start on Friday against the Chicago Cubs following the latest update from the Mets yesterday, and the Mets were being cautious with Harvey after pulling him due to minor back tightness. Harvey is in good health now, and he will in fact be starting on Thursday instead of Friday.
This means that the Mets will give Shaun Marcum some extra rest (one day), as Rubin added that he will be making his start on Friday. Harvey is perfectly fine, and the Mets will need him at his best against the best team in the Majors. The Cardinals will have to face a guy with a sub-1.00 WHIP and a 2.10 ERA to his name, and it is certainly great to hear that one of the best young starters in the MLB (one o the best starters period) is good to go.