WASHINGTON — Matt Harvey sought redemption, but ultimately received Capitol punishment Tuesday night.
The beleaguered Mets right-hander continued his free fall toward baseball hell with a third straight ugly performance that left Nationals fans taunting the pitcher with chants of “Har-vey” as he was unraveling in the middle innings.
Same collapse, different day. Only this time the hits were louder: Harvey surrendered a season-high three homers in the Mets’ 7-4 loss at Nationals Park that snapped their four-game winning streak.
Harvey, who bolted the ballpark before speaking with reporters, is not guaranteed his next turn in the rotation on Monday against the White Sox at Citi Field.
“Right now we’ve got to think what’s not just best for Matt, but what’s best for us moving forward at the moment,” manager Terry Collins said. “There’s a lot of things to consider — that’s why we’re not going to make any rash judgments tonight.”
Collins plans to speak with general manager Sandy Alderson and pitching coach Dan Warthen on Wednesday to chart a course of action. Harvey had been allowed to make this start after convincing team officials he belonged in the rotation and could overcome his troubles.
“I know he’s frustrated and I’m frustrated just because I want to help him out as much as I can,” catcher Kevin Plawecki said. “It’s just one of those things he’s got to keep grinding through and working to get better.”
The dagger was Daniel Murphy’s two-run homer in the fifth inning that all but guaranteed Harvey (3-7) his third straight loss and fourth in five games. Harvey, who allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings, was removed after the frame, with his ERA at 6.08. He began the night with a 5.77 ERA.
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If there was a small positive, Harvey had a flurry of pitches early that registered in the 95-96 mph range. But his location was another matter altogether.
“One of the things we told [Harvey] the other day was to let it go a little bit,” Collins said. “That was good that we saw that. I think it gave him some confidence, knowing that his fastball is still there.”
Ben Revere homered against Antonio Bastardo and Wilson Ramos’ blast against Jim Henderson completed the Nationals’ five-homer attack.
Stephen Strasburg (8-0) beat the Mets for the second time in less than a week, allowing two earned runs on four hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts over 6 ²/₃ innings. The righty — who like Harvey has undergone Tommy John surgery — was removed in the seventh with the tying run at the plate and watched reliever Felipe Rivero strike out Juan Lagares.
Asdrubal Cabrera’s third homer of the season gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Eric Campbell’s two-run blast in the ninth gave the Mets five homers in two games.
After allowing consecutive homers to Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon in the fourth, Harvey’s fifth started badly: Revere doubled. Jayson Werth then singled Revere to third and Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly gave the Nationals a 3-1 lead.
But then came Murphy, who is 8-for-19 (.421) this season against his former team. Murphy pounded a 94-mph Harvey fastball into the mezzanine in right to put the Nationals firmly in control.
“[Harvey] is just way too good to continue like this,” Collins said. “The guy tonight that he faced [Strasburg] was in a similar spot last year, so we do know what happened.”