For most of Friday night, it looked as if Matt Harvey would be the hero against the Nationals.
He retired the first 16 batters he faced, striking out seven of them.
But a phantom hit by pitch and two singles in the bottom of the eighth meant Harvey walked off the mound in a tie game that the Mets ended up winning 2-1 in 12 innings.
Though he was disappointed he wasn’t able to finish that eighth inning and perhaps save Wilmer Flores from having to hit his game-winning homer, Harvey and manager Terry Collins continue to be encouraged by his recent performance.