Rockies ‘pen wastes starter’s effort again, lose to Mets

Matt Harvey could do no wrong.

Knowing he is on a rough innings limit in his first season since having Tommy John surgery, the Dark Knight has adjusted his mindset some.

Zach Britton got five outs for his 24th straight save.

“At this point when your innings start getting up that high, the biggest thing is throwing strikes and not putting runners on base”, he said. Harvey (11-7) has thrown 15 shutout innings his last two starts, and Ruben Tejada had the game-winning RBI single in the sixth.

Cueto (1-1) did not allow a runner past second base, struck out eight and walked none.

The right-hander allowed only three infield singles until Ben Paulsen doubled down the right field line in the seventh. Castillo has eight home runs and 14 RBIs in his last 12 games. Juan Lagares did the most damage thanks to his bases-loaded two-run double.

Duda said he could pinch-hit, but Collins may be reluctant to use him at all. The pitching matchup on Monday is an interesting one.

Angels starter Matt Shoemaker (5-8) had thrown 19 consecutive scoreless innings before Melky Cabrera’s sacrifice fly put Chicago ahead 1-0 in the first inning.

Hernandez (13-6) struck out nine and walked one in his first career appearance at hitter-friendly Coors Field, allowing the Mariners to build a big enough lead to withstand the Rockies’ three-run, ninth-inning rally.

Mets reliever Eric O’Flaherty came on to pitch a scoreless ninth to finish out the game in a non-save situation. The 29-year-old Venezuelan is 7-for-21 (.333) with 11 RBIs and five runs scored during the Rockies’ 3-2 run but is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his brief dealings with Harvey.

“Tough to do”, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.

“He was gonna be off today or tomorrow anyway – I wanted to give [Curtis Granderson] a day off, I wanted to give Lucas a day off against these two lefties, and move Michael (Cuddyer) around”, Mets manager Terry Collins said.

“I feel comfortable in there right now”, Murphy said.

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Meanwhile, Harvey was cruising through the Rockies’ lineup. They have 3 at Dodger Stadium, 4 against the Giants, and 3 more against the Rockies, a team that just took 2 out of 3 from them in D.C. In that time the Mets play the Pirates at home and the Orioles on the roadafter their 4 game set with the Rockies.

J.D. Martinez doubled in the second for the Tigers’ only extra-base hit. Compounding an already hard season with decisions that wind up costing games in the name of “the future” is never a popular stance with players who have to go out and play in the here and now.

“It’s possible”, Weiss said.

Pirates third baseman Josh Harrison (thumb) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, while his team-mate Jordy Mercer (knee) will likely start his on Friday.