After starting his career career going 0-22 with seven strikeouts against Matt Harvey, the last thing you’d expect is for Bryce Harper to feel sorry for his presumed arch nemesis. However, after getting booed off the mound after 2.2 excruciating innings, as Kevin Ducey of Sports Illustrated Tweeted, he does:

 
Not only did Harper see diminished velocity from Harvey, he also saw his first hit against him. 

However, that’s not all he’s seen from Harvey. He’s seen Harvey at his best. He’s seen Harvey work hard in the offseason to return to form. He saw Harvey get booed by his hometown fans. 

Like most, Harper has a theory on why Harvey is struggling. Like most, he attributes it to Harvey’s workload from last year. 

Truth is no one really knows at this point. If there was a simple answer, the Mets and Harvey would’ve resolved the issue by now. Instead, everyone is back to the drawing board like they’ve been after all of Harvey’s starts. There are many unknowns as to what the issue could be. 

However, as Harper said, we do know that Harvey’s “working his tail off.”  That should give us all hope that Harvey will eventually figure it out. 

Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsmerizedonline.com