The Mets had a successful Wednesday as they completed their series with the Nationals and took two out of three with this afternoon’s victory. The Mets now only sit a half-game out of first place. Steven Matz who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season shut down the Nationals over eight scoreless innings as the Mets won by the final score of 2-0. Matz is quietly emerging as an ace in his own right as he only allowed four hits, one walk, and struck out seven Nats hitters. At one point Matz had retired 16 Nationals hitters in a row. The promise that surrounds Matz’s potential is tantalizing, and the only question that remains is can his health hold up over a full season? Matz career record now sits at 11-1 and has now recorded a victory in seven straight appearances. The Mets received help offensively from a David Wright home run in the bottom of the first, and a Rene Rivera RBI single that was made possible by a Daniel Murphy error in the top of the 7th. Jeurys Familia was in a jam immediately in the bottom of the 9th after allowing two straight singles to Jayson Werth and Daniel Murphy. He quickly regained his form thereafter and nailed down his 16th save of the season.

Cabrera Injury: Asdrubal Cabrera who was originally in the Mets lineup was pulled from the game before taking an official at-bat or taking the field defensively due to back spasms. Matt Reynolds took over in Cabrera’s place and ended up registering his first career major league hit with a single in the top of the 5th inning.

The Dark Knight Returns: Manager Terry Collins met with Matt Harvey prior to this afternoon’s game, and he disclosed to the press that Harvey will make his next scheduled start against the Chicago White Sox on Monday afternoon. Collins told the media, “This guy is too big a piece to write him off, to flip him in the bullpen to where you’ve got to pick and choose when you might use him.” Collins and upper management saw encouraging signs early in the game as Harvey’s fastball velocity seemed to be back to normal and his slider seemed to be rounding back into form. The issue just continues to be the middle innings where Harvey falls apart, and that is an area they will look to continue to try and fix. The Mets aren’t willing to write Harvey off as he has been considered one of the top pitchers in baseball since entering the league in 2012. It’s a perplexing situation but one the Mets are determined to try their best to correct.

Adios Dario: The Atlanta Braves claimed left-handed pitcher Dario Alvarez off waivers from the Mets and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. Alvarez was designated for assignment by the Mets on Tuesday, to make space on the 40-man roster for utility player Ty Kelly. Alvarez who was rated as the number 22 prospect by MLB.com in the Mets organization had a brutal 9.98 ERA in 17 appearances with Triple-A Las Vegas.

UP NEXT: The Mets will have an off-day tomorrow before squaring off with the Dodgers in a 3-game series this weekend at Citi Field. The Mets will celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the 1986 World Championship team during all three games against the Dodgers at Citi Field. In addition to wearing their throwback 1986 jerseys all weekend, there are numerous cool things planned for the weekend. This Friday, every fan will take home a ’86 replica jersey, there is also special pre-game ceremony honoring the ‘86 team on Saturday, and the first 15,000 fans will receive a ‘86 replica World Series ring on Sunday. Maybe fans can also get treated to a fastball thrown at Chase Utley’s backside by a Mets pitcher as well (just kidding, well sort of).

Jacob deGrom (3-1, 3.07 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets on Friday night against Dodgers lefty Alex Wood (1-3, 4.03 ERA). You can catch Friday night’s game on SNY and MLB Network. Look for Wilmer Flores to return to the Mets lineup Friday night as well.