New York Mets right-hander Matt Harvey has made his share of dramatic starts over the years. Due to the circumstances, Friday night’s start in Milwaukee ranked highly among them in terms of anticipation and drama.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of his performance.

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In his first start since failing to show up at Citi Field last Saturday night and serving a three-game team-issued suspension, Harvey was lit up for five runs on seven hits over five-plus innings.

The onslaught included three home runs, including one in which he was batflipped by light-hitting infielder Eric Sogard.

Hernan Perez added a solo homer in the third. Pinch-hitter Orlando Arcia went back-to-back with Sogard in the sixth, which officially ended Harvey’s night. He ended up taking the loss as the Mets fell 7-4.

It could be argued Harvey was not aided by manager Terry Collins. After laboring through five innings, most of the Mets beat writers suspected his night would be over. Had Collins agreed, Harvey’s line would have looked a lot better. Despite tying a season high with five walks, he’d only allowed two runs to that point.

Once into the sixth, the wheels came flying off.

The home runs in particular are a concern for Harvey because those were just the result of rust. The home runs have become a trend.

Harvey’s command has not been great, and he’s yet to consistently find the velocity necessary to make up for falling behind in counts. That’s a recipe for bad results, and right now hitters aren’t giving him a break.

For Harvey, it’s kind of one step at a time right now. The first step is to refocus, which he’s said all week that he’s committed to doing. Once he’s in the right frame of mind, he can turn his attention to turning around his performance.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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