DENVER — Matt Harvey looked comfortable sitting near the top of the Mets’ dugout Sunday afternoon, wearing a sweatshirt, with sunglasses perched atop his hat, as he leaned over to get a closer look at Logan Verrett striking out Carlos Gonzalez swinging on a nasty slider.
Harvey could afford to relax. The Mets had given him the day off and had skipped his turn to start as part of their ongoing plan to limit his innings this year, his first season back after Tommy John surgery. And Verrett, the rookie who replaced him, was pitching a gem in his first career start — in Coors Field, of all places, a park where the altitude makes the ball jump.