Happy Harvey Day everyone.
At this point, Harvey Day is like an aging movie franchise. There are some beats that every movie is going to hit, and we all know how it’s going to end…but we watch anyway. Today’s Harvey Day was Very Harvey Day like that.
Harvey Day starts with the traditional reading of the numbers and the famous line “Harvey Days is filmed in front of a live studio audience.” (As Nick mentions here, I went to the beach. Never waste a nice sunny day on baseball.)
Now maybe those numbers are hard to see, so let me summarize: THEY ARE BAD.
Let’s get a close up of our hero, wearing a Father’s Day Orioles Cap of uninspired design but if you say that out loud then you support cancer.
Fans of Harvey Day know that Harvey Day starts out fine, and today is no different as TDK gets two quick outs. But then…a pesky single…
…and how does Matt react when someone is on base? He lets more people on base. Another single! Then a walk! And now our protagonist is in trouble.
Uh oh, bases loaded and a 3-2 count and…
SIT DOWN SON!!!!
And one of our Harvey Day must-scenes is the shot of Matt walking off the mound.
Then the Harvey Day Formula goes like this. The Orioles give him a lead – and sure enough they did – and we’re on to the 2nd and Matt is up 1-0.
Another must have scene is Matt’s “How far did that one go?” Face. Matt gets the first two guys out in the second before giving this one up…
But don’t worry Matt, this one is just a double. Matt strikes out the next guy to get out of it, and we’re onto the third.
The next beat on Harvey Day is the good inning. This is where the announcers talk about how Matt has made adjustments and he’s better and all that. It’s a 1-2-3 third.
In the fourth, Matt does his 1-2-double-3 thing again but he’s through four and up 1-0.
And now, like any long running franchise, you know how it ends. On to the 5th…
Look at where this pitch is…
It’s Reese McGuire’s second double of the day!
Semien flies out but then….
Bichette singles to drive in the run. Then Guerrero walks and Orioles Manager Bruce Hyde should know better at this point. Look at the body language.
But Bruce Hyde never learns, and this is the part of Harvey Day where we leave Matt in too long.
Oscar Hernandez doubles. O’s trail 2-1, runners on second and third. What do you think is about to happen?
And it’s 3-1. Will Bruce Hyde learn? No. Because we haven’t yet had the scene with Orioles Clown Show Defense. Matt gets a bloop to left and…
And now Bruce has seen enough, and kids, we always take a long look as it could be the last time we ever see The Next Seaver on the mound, and when you take your children to Cooperstown to see his plaque, you will want to tell them that you saw the great Matt Harvey pitch 4 and a third on Father’s Day in 2021.
Soak it all in kids, you may never see this again…
“I think just the long first inning kind of got to me towards the end there,” Harvey said. “Stuff was good early and then obviously, just kind of wasn’t there in the fifth. With the stuff I had early, I should have been in the sixth or seventh inning and there should be a lot less runs on the board. Just have to keep pushing for it and try and avoid those really long innings that can just wear you down.” (via Baltimore Sun)
However, Bruce Hyde is still in denial…
“For me, he had that long first inning, but that was the best four innings that he’s thrown since he’s been here,” Hyde said. “Just from a stuff and command standpoint, I was really impressed. They obviously got to him there in the fifth, but with our bullpen the way it is, it was unfortunate.
“Hopefully he can build off that and get through the fifth, sixth in his next start.” (via Baltimore Sun)
MATT HARVEY WILL RETURN
