NEW YORK -- In a season that has been anything but kind to Matt Harvey, the right-hander hit what he called one of his lowest points physically Wednesday night after "arm fatigue" forced him from the Mets' 9-4 win over the Cubs after just four innings and 58 pitches.
Harvey, who underwent surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome last year, gave up four runs on three homers against Chicago, but he retired nine in a row at one point. He will meet with doctors on Thursday to determine whether he is suffering from a specific injury or what he is feeling is actually just fatigue -- which he and the Mets are hoping to hear.
"My arm was just not working at all," Harvey said. "In past games, it's taken a while to get loose and get warm. Obviously, since the surgery, that's kind of been the issue. But tonight, it felt like it got loose and then it progressively just felt really tired."

Mets manager Terry Collins had pitching coach Dan Warthen check on Harvey following the third inning, when he noticed Harvey's fastball velocity dipping into the high-80s. Harvey informed Warthen about his arm's fatigue, and the staff let him continue for one more inning. After that, Collins, whose initial reaction was that it was actually his offspeed pitches registering that low, had seen enough. Although Harvey's fastball is not what it used to be, it primarily has been in the low-90s this season.
"It would be one thing if Matt was at 91, 92 [mph]," Collins said. "It's another thing when it was at 89."

The last time he threw a fastball that slow, Harvey said, was his freshman year of high school.
Harvey said he could tell something was off in the first inning. He hoped it would get better as the game went on, like he had experienced in the past, but that was not the case. Harvey described the situation not necessarily as discomfort, but a fatigue that ran throughout the whole arm and nowhere specifically.

"It's frustrating for me to be taken out that early and not feel great physically and have to get checked out by a doctor," Harvey said. "It's the last thing I want to have happened."
With his ERA now resting at 5.25, Harvey once again finds himself at a crossroads. He has completed six innings just once since April 21 -- on May 28, when he gave up one run and earned the win in Pittsburgh. It appeared Harvey had finally turned the corner. But since then, he's allowed 10 runs in 14 innings over three starts.
"It's been a very difficult year," Harvey said. "Lot of ups and downs and discomfort, battling weaknesses and strengthening areas that I'm not used to. It's been rough."