After nearly 19 months on the shelf, New York Mets ace Matt Harvey finally returned to game action Friday in a spring training contest against the Detroit Tigers.
Harvey worked just two innings, but they were spectacular as he was perfect and struck out three batters.
Here is a look at Harvey's first punch-out, courtesy of MLB.com:
Per MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, he needed just 25 pitches to twice retire the Tigers in order:
The 25-year-old star underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2013, which caused him to miss the entire 2014 campaign. Harvey was lights out in 2013 as he posted a 2.27 ERA and started the All-Star Game for the National League.
His past dominance means that hopes are extremely high for Harvey entering the 2015 regular season, and while there are no guarantees that he will perform at an elite level, he got off to a strong start Friday.
There was a ton of excitement surrounding his return to the mound, readily apparent through his teammates' actions. According to Marc Carig of New York Newsday, there was definite interest in Harvey's start among the other pitchers:
The impressive righty came out firing as he struck out the first batter he faced in outfielder Anthony Gose and broke a pair of bats in the first inning, per Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com:
Harvey was arguably even better in his second inning of work as he nearly hit 100 mph on the radar gun, according to MLB.com's Rich MacLeod:
Matthew Pouliot of Rotoworld.com jokingly downplayed Harvey's velocity, but there is no question that he was locked in:
As if his fastball weren't impressive enough, Harvey also showed off some filthy breaking stuff, per Karl de Vries of Fox News and FanGraphs.com:
Prior to Harvey's return, Mets manager Terry Collins made it clear he didn't want his star pitcher to overdo it, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
(Harvey) is going to be all jacked up, and he should be. But I just want him to go out there and say 'This is part of the process in getting back. And you know you're not going to do any more to make a huge impression on this club by trying to overthrow.' Just go out there and hit your spots and work on your stuff and let the two innings play out. We all know we're going to have to ratchet him down a bit before he walks on that mound.
Every indication is that Harvey did precisely that.
Although there was plenty to like about Harvey's outing, former Mets ace Dwight Gooden pointed out that the manner in which Harvey's arm and body reacts to it is even more vital:
Provided Harvey feels good and is able to move forward as expected, the Mets could be in position to be one of the league's surprise teams in 2015.
If Friday's start was any indication, Harvey may be back and better than ever before.
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