Happy Walker Day.
While the Mets’ past was on not-so-glorious display Wednesday in Matt Harvey’s return to Citi Field, the present couldn’t have looked much better.
There was Taijuan Walker looking every bit like the steal of the offseason, with a second straight shutdown performance, this one spearheading the Mets’ seventh straight victory, 7-1 over the Orioles.
Walker allowed one run on four hits over seven innings with four strikeouts and three walks. Over his past 14 innings the right-hander has surrendered only one earned run, and he saw his ERA shrivel to 2.20 (which is still only third-best in the Mets rotation, behind Jacob deGrom’s 0.68 and Marcus Stroman’s 2.01). During the winning streak Mets starters have pitched to a 1.80 ERA.
A solid defense behind the pitchers has helped. The latest contribution was provided by Michael Conforto, whose diving grab in the right-field gap robbed Austin Hays in the third inning.
“Our defense has been spectacular all year, we are making big plays, especially in the outfield,” Walker said. “I like to pitch to contact, and the offense did a good job getting runs early and we just kept putting it on, so it was easy for me to go out there and just try to get quick outs.”
Harvey, in his first appearance on the mound at Citi Field since he was traded by the Mets in 2018, received warm ovations as he took the mound, batted and departed the game. But the once Dark Knight didn’t offer much resistance to the Mets’ bats.
He got chased in the fifth with the Mets already ahead 5-0 and watched as reliever Shawn Armstrong allowed two inherited runners to score. In all, Harvey was charged for seven earned runs on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts, and his ERA surged from 3.60 to 4.81.
“What the fans gave me out there was pretty incredible,” Harvey said. “I was holding back tears. I’m not going to lie about that, it was pretty hard holding them back.”
Walker, who arrived late in the offseason on a two-year deal worth $20 million (after the Mets had missed on options such as Trevor Bauer and James Paxton), has pitched to a 1.11 ERA at home this season.
“I feel confident in myself and I felt confident last year,” said Walker, who returned from Tommy John surgery in 2020 after missing most of the previous two seasons. “I showed that I had a couple of more pitches, and this year my only focus is to go out there and try to help the team win ballgames. Try to go deep into games. I don’t care if I am proving people wrong or not. I know what I can do and the Mets believed in me and they know what I can do, too.”
The early offensive support provided him a nice cushion, as the Mets matched their highest scoring output during the winning streak. Dominic Smith led the offensive attack with a 3-for-4 performance, as the Mets went a third straight game without a home run.
Jonathan Villar singled leading off the fifth and stole second before Conforto stroked an RBI single with one out. After Pete Alonso walked, ending Harvey’s afternoon, Smith delivered an RBI double for his third hit. Jose Peraza’s RBI single extended the lead to 7-0.
Kevin Pillar’s two-run triple in the second — the ball banged off the fence in left-center — gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Peraza’s ensuing RBI single extended that lead.
Smith’s RBI single in the third put Harvey in a 4-0 hole. Francisco Lindor singled leading off the inning and stole second before Smith delivered with two outs.
Walker retired 11 straight batters beginning in the second inning. It followed a start in St. Louis last week that he concluded by retiring 18 straight.
“He’s got weapons, and the command right now I think is really good, so those two things are helping,” manager Luis Rojas said. “The velo is a tick up compared to a couple of years back. All that, you can throw it in the mix and everything is making him play the way he is playing right now.”