Mike Puma
Matt Harvey limped to his locker, right knee heavily bundled with ice, and for a change didn't have to apologize for not doing his job.
In Harvey's world as the Mets ace, his job description — as repeated to reporters ad nauseam — is to put up zeroes and give his team a chance to win.
Too many times this season the right-hander's quest had been sabotaged by one mediocre inning or untimely hit. Last night, he put up nine zeroes and got the win, a first for his major league career.
"It was kind of something I wanted to do all year," Harvey said after his four-hit shutout led a 5-0 victory over the Rockies at Citi Field.
Harvey was drilled on the right knee by Charlie Blackmon's line drive with two outs in the ninth, but manager Terry Collins and trainer Ray Ramirez would have needed NYPD protection had they attempted to remove their pitcher. Harvey later referred to Blackmon's shot as a "graze" and said it was nothing to worry about.
Even so, Collins admitted if Harvey hadn't retired the next hitter, Troy Tulowitzki, to end the game, there would have been a pitching change.
Instead, the announced crowd of 27,581 got to see a completion to the masterpiece and give the hero of the day a proper send-off.
This would have to pass as August drama for the Mets, who are nine games below .500 and trying to build enthusiasm toward 2014.
"You don't have many opportunities to pitch shutouts," Collins said. "To have that beast that wants to go out there and pitch the ninth, especially with a five-run lead, they are unique and it's good to have one."
Maybe the best sign for the Mets was Harvey, who struck out only six and did not walk a batter, appeared to conserve energy
and improved as the game got deep. That is a contrast to the Harvey that so many times this season has been Bob Feller for five or six innings before becoming just a regular feller late in the game.
Before last night, Harvey's ERA in the fifth inning this year was 0.41. Get to the sixth inning and that number became 4.05, followed by 4.11 in the seventh and 6.23 in the eighth. Maybe that's not important if pitching with a decent lead, but this Mets lineup doesn't do cushions. It explains why the Mets were just 12-10 in Harvey's starts before last night, despite the fact he was second in the National League in ERA.
Harvey seemed to save his 97 mph heat for special occasions against the Rockies, keeping his fastball two or three ticks lower most of the night. And the reward was 11 straight batters retired until Nolan Arenado singled in the eighth.
"[Harvey] has that gift God gives you to miss over the plate and get good hitters to miss," catcher John Buck said.
Granted, it was a Rockies lineup minus All-Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, but Tulowitzki and Michael Cuddyer are legit and could have ended Harvey's shutout bid with one swing.
It wasn't Harvey's most dominant performance of the season — that distinction is reserved for the one-hitter over nine innings with 12 strikeouts he threw against the White Sox on May 7 (and received a no-decision) — but second-best isn't bad on a resume that already includes three flirtations with no-hitters in 2013.
"Nine innings, that is where you want to go as a starter, whether I struck out 10, three or one," Harvey said. "Today I was getting early contact and the guys made all the plays."
Harvey's job, after all, is to put up zeroes. Last night there were nine of them in succession and he actually got the win.
mpuma@nypost.com
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