David Schoenfield on Bryce Harper versus the Mets

Harper destroyed his NL East opponents last season on his way to the MVP Award … except the Mets, that is. Against the hapless Braves, Marlins and Phillies he hit .344 with 21 home runs in 54 games. Against the Mets he hit .254 with four home runs in 18 games, with one of those home runs coming in the meaningless season-ending series between the clubs. The matchup to watch: Harper is 0-for-20 with seven strikeouts in his career against Matt Harvey. He’s fared better against Jacob deGrom (7-for-18, .389, 1 HR) and Noah Syndergaard (3-for-9, .333). Harper didn’t exactly struggle against high-octane fastballs in 2015 — he hit .310/.479/.507 against fastballs of 95-plus mph — but he crushed mediocre heat, hitting .395/.521/.882 against 94 or less. Expect the Mets’ three to challenge him with hard stuff inside.

Source: David Schoenfield, ESPN.com

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