Matt Harvey struggles mightily as Mets fall to Braves

The Mets’ series opener in Atlanta was the sort of game you’d like to forget, one that fit in a little bit too well with some of the nightmares the franchise has encountered when visiting the Braves over the years. And it justifiably sounded the alarm on Matt Harvey’s status as a member of the Mets’ rotation, which figures to be the only topic of discussion surrounding the team today.

Harvey gave up three runs in the first and three more in the third. Mickey Callaway was able to get six innings out of him despite that, but the game never felt like it was in reach, save for a brief moment when the team got the bases loaded late in the game, already trailing by an even larger margin.

It might not take long for the taste of that game to go away. Noah Syndergaard starts tonight, and Jacob deGrom starts tomorrow night. The Mets should be just fine. But something might need to happen with Harvey, even before Jason Vargas comes back from the disabled list, so that the offense isn’t ask to do such heavy lifting just to be in the game.

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: none
Big losers: Matt Harvey, -29.5% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Nick Markakis flies out to left in the first, +2.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Kurt Suzuki hits a two-run home run in the first, -16.1% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -31.0% WPA
Total batter WPA: -19.0% WPA
GWRBI!: Preston Tucker