By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
HARVEY
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Sunday turned into a memorable afternoon for former Bandys High pitching star Hunter Harvey.
Pitching in his 79th major league game — a 9-8 road victory by the Washington Nationals over Arizona — he gained his first save.
Throwing the ninth inning, he gave up no hits, one walk and struck out one — for the final out — to become part of the ninth father-son duo in big league baseball history with a save.
Harvey’s father, Bryan (who turns 60 in early June), had 177 saves while pitching for the the California Angels and Florida Marlins from 1987 through 1995. He led each league in saves once and was an all-star in each league.
Hunter Harvey has been primarily a late-inning reliever, first with Baltimore and now with the Nationals, snd improved to 1-0 with an ERA of 2.70 this season ( throwing strikes on 10 of 16 pitches to five batters).
He appeared in his 15th game this season and has 18 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings as the Nats head to San Francisco to start a three-game series Monday night.
Nearly two years ago, Hunter Harvey was claimed on waivers by the Giants but never pitched for them. He was placed on waivers by Baltimore and taken by San Francisco then claimed on waivers by Washington.
He appears to have shaken the injury bug that followed him for several years and has been especially effective this year (in his last seven games, he is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.13, allowing just four hits in eight innings with two walks and 11 strikeouts.
His father — signed as a free agent by the Angels after a workout in Mooresville well after his prep career ended at Bandys — was baseball’s dominant closer until an arm injury eventually sidelined him at age 31.
Bryan Harvey went 17-25 with an ERA of 2.46, striking out 448 in 387 innings. He will not be on a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot only because he did not play 10 major league seasons.
Hunter Harvey is 28 and was chosen No. 22 in the 2013 MLB Draft after a sterling career at Bandys.
SUNDAY’S BOXSCORE: https://www.mlb.com/gameday/nationals-vs-d-backs/2023/05/07/718263/final/box
HUNTER HARVEY’S PRO CAREER: https://www.mlb.com/player/hunter-harvey-640451
NATIONALS 2023 SCHEDULE: https://www.mlb.com/nationals/schedule/2023-04