LOS ANGELES -- Matt Harvey cruised through four scoreless innings in his Cincinnati Reds debut Friday night, limiting the Los Angeles Dodgers to only one hit -- on a fly ball that should have been caught -- and striking out two batters.
Harvey, on a pitch count for his first start in more than three weeks, used only 55 pitches to record 12 outs in the Reds' 6-2 win. Thirty-two of them were strikes and one of them reached a season-high velocity of 95.8 mph.
The 29-year-old right-hander took the mound after a 34-pitch, 21-minute top of the first inning and retired his first four batters at Dodger Stadium. With one out in the second, Cody Bellinger hit a towering fly ball that resulted in a triple after it fell between center fielder Billy Hamilton and right fielder Scott Schebler, who lost the baseball in a dark, cloudy sky.
Harvey struck out Chris Taylor on a high slider, then got Max Muncy to line out to center field, stranding a runner on third against a Dodgers team that has struggled offensively of late.
The next six batters were retired in short order.
Harvey was dealt to the Reds on Tuesday in a trade that sent catcher Devin Mesoraco and cash to the New York Mets. Harvey was one of the game's best pitchers as recently as 2015, but a reconstructed elbow and a bout with thoracic outlet syndrome have sent his career spiraling the past three years.
The Mets moved Harvey to the bullpen after three shaky starts, then designated him for assignment after he refused a trip to the minor leagues. Harvey met his Reds teammates for the first time Thursday and expressed excitement about the possibility of getting his career back on track with a new team.
"At times there were some pretty negative thoughts about where my career was," said Harvey, who joined the Reds with a 7.00 ERA in 27 innings this season. "But I think fighting through that and throwing the ball the way I have been, in bullpens and in between outings -- it's in there. It just needs to come out. I just need to relax and let it happen."
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