Matt Harvey vs. Stephen Strasburg: Stats, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

In his first regular-season start since Aug. 24, 2013, New York Mets ace Matt Harvey outdueled Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals on Thursday at Nationals Park.  

Harvey, who was on a pitch count, cruised through six innings and exited with a 6-0 lead. He surrendered just four hits, walked one and struck out nine in his triumphant return to the hill.

The 26-year-old righty missed the entire 2014 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he somehow didn't miss a beat against the Nats. That was apparent as "The Dark Knight of Gotham" was pumping gas right off the bat, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin:

As impressive as that was, the conclusion of that at-bat was even better, as Harvey sent Nationals outfielder Michael Taylor back to the dugout with a nasty curveball, as seen in this video, courtesy of MLB's official Twitter account:

Much of the focus entering the game was placed on Harvey's highly anticipated return, but Strasburg's presence was significant as well. On the heels of a 2014 season in which he registered a career-best 242 strikeouts, the 26-year-old fireballer entered 2015 with massive expectations.

As seen in this ESPN Stats & Info graphic, Harvey versus Strasburg was nothing short of a marquee pitching matchup:

While Harvey came out of the gates firing, Strasburg wasn't quite as sharp. He escaped the first two innings without allowing a run, but he allowed a hit and walked two.

Things truly started to unravel for him in the third inning, though. Strasburg allowed four runs in the frame, but only one of them was earned due to an error by shortstop Ian Desmond. ESPN.com's Eric Karabell noted that Desmond's error sparked New York's rally:

With Strasburg struggling to recover from Desmond's miscue, he started to hear it from some of the Mets fans who made the trip to Washington, according to Wayne Randazzo of WOR 710:

After watching his team provide a bunch of run support, Harvey responded in the third by striking out the side, per Rubin:

Following scoreless fourth and fifth innings, the Mets forced Strasburg to hit the showers early in the sixth as third baseman David Wright knocked him out of the contest with a two-run single to make it 6-0 in favor of New York.

Fox Sports: MLB tweeted Strasburg's stat line, which told an accurate story of his struggles:

Harvey left the game under much better circumstances as he completed the sixth inning with a pair of strikeouts, including his third punchout of Nats slugger Bryce Harper, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com:

After the game, Harvey credited the offense's run support for helping him get comfortable.

"I don't know if I could draw it up any better," Harvey said, per Rubin. "For me, it was nice to have that six-run lead and really just be able to pound the zone. I thank the offense for that. It made it easy to throw strikes."

The Mets played it safe with Harvey in his return to the mound, but based on how he was dealing, he likely could have pitched another inning or two without an issue.

Since the MLB season is such a grind, though, manager Terry Collins was right to lift him after six, especially with his team in firm control of the game.

Though it's just one start, it appears Harvey re-established himself as one of the best starting pitchers in baseball Thursday. 

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.