BUFFALO, N.Y. (Bisons.com) - Matt Harvey has been having a knack lately to pitch quality starts for the Herd. The power righty did so once again.
Harvey pitched seven impressive innings, along with fanning nine hitters, as the Bisons win 8-0 over the Bats Friday night at Coca-Cola Field.
The first four innings for Harvey were completely overpowering against Louisville.
"Gotta give credit to (Rob) Johnson for calling the game and keeping me in it," Matt Harvey said. In the fifth, Harvey got the first two outs before sacrificing a single to Paul Janish, falling short of a perfect game bid. In those innings, the Mets prospect struck out seven of his first twelve batters.
"I was able to throw my off-speed stuff for strikes when I wanted to," Matt Harvey said. "I can work with everything and keep a good pace with my pitches." Throughout his pitching performance allowed only three batters, giving up two hits and one walk.
"Matt's curveball looked a lot better tonight," Manager Wally Backman said. "He made hitters look back with his overpowering and off-speed stuff." Harvey's nine strikeouts gives him 96 on the season and 40 on the home turf. His 96 strikeouts are team-best with the Herd and IL-best. His seven wins are also team-best for the Bisons.
"Harvey is the type of hitter that doesn't have to waste pitches," Backman added. The Herd hitting went on a bit of a power surge to back up Harvey's pitching performance.
"Harvey was a big-league guy tonight," Backman added. "He had a good night; he's definitely improving every single outing." Oswaldo Navarro, Matt Den Dekker, and Josh Rodriguez all hit solo home runs. It was Navarro's first home run of the season back in the second.
As for the individual hitting performance, Josh Rodriguez and Brad Emaus led the pack.
Rodriguez went 4-5 at the plate, scoring three runs and knocking in a run.
Emaus had an eerily similar performance at the plate, going 3-4 and knocking in three runs.
BISONS NOTES: Josh Rodriguez is hitting 11-29 (.375) with three home runs and five RBIs since being called up from Double-A Binghamton on June 21....Matt Harvey has pitched in five or more innings in four straight starts....Bisons won series and is 3-1 against Louisville this season...Matt Den Dekker has hit four home runs since being promoted from Binghamton June 12.
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