The sun is out and the race is on.

Six games in eight days produced a head-to-head push and a mere half-game divide between the New York Mets and Washington Nationals, who have performed as prognostication fillers since the season began. Each was projected to be atop the National League East tussling with the other. The Nationals have one more win overall, resulting in a minimalist separation between the teams. The season series stands 3-3.

“These teams are going to battle for a while,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said.

Wednesday began with divergent tones. Mets manager Terry Collins, arms folded and back to a wall, stood ready for the questions. The reporters that had lined both sides of the hallway leading into the visitor’s clubhouse at Nationals Park were now in front of the Mets manager. Mets pitcher Matt Harvey not talking was a topic of conversation. Harvey’s arm, longevity, future, and mysterious failings on the mound were also covered in a media meeting about one man answered only by another.

Collins knew it was coming. There was an editorial avalanche against Harvey in the New York papers on Wednesday morning. He not only had pitched poorly, but chose to leave afterward without speaking to reporters about his performance. He again declined to chat Wednesday morning.

Collins is a rarity in sports: a forthright person at the helm. He admits he reads what is written. That, of course, does not mean he agrees, but he reads, then responds in varying tones that reveal his emotion at the time. The force in his voice rose and fell when talking about Harvey, whom the Nationals beat for two of their three wins against the Mets this season.

“We’ve got to think right now think about what’s the most important thing for this team and that’s to get Matt Harvey back to being Matt Harvey,” Collins said. “The other outside stuff? I can’t worry about that. I’ve got to worry about this kid’s mental makeup and physical makeup and get him back.”

Baker settled into his usual press conference seat 15 minutes later. Steam came from his hot coffee. He mentioned the time he saw Otis Redding live and another show with B.B. King in Atlanta. Baker jokingly chastised a reporter for asking about the success of the bullpen. He feared the query could deliver a jinx. The clubhouse was serene.

The managers’ pregame plights have become a microcosm of the early feel around the National League East race. The Nationals have flipped the tepid clubhouse mood that closed last season. New York has multiple tensions ringed around Harvey: What is wrong with him? What should they do with him? How will he react?

The answers, in order: They don’t know. He’ll make his next turn in the rotation. They don’t know.

Collins withstood all the questions. He is worried about Harvey, a 27-year-old he refers to as “this kid.” Collins is concerned about Harvey’s mental and physical state. In an odd aside, he wants a conclusion to the pity.

“One of the things I still think about any time I talk to Matt Harvey is how the guy that walked into my office his first spring training said, ‘I’m not here to show you what kind of stuff I have, I’m here to make your team,’” Collins said. “The next spring training, he said, ‘I’m not just here to be one of the starters. I’m here to be the best in baseball.’ At the end of that year, even though he got hurt, he was the best in baseball.

“That’s the guy we’re trying to get back instead of woe is me. What he did last year, there’s going to be a period that he’s got to recover. And I don’t think that period has come here yet. That’s where I want the fight. That’s where the fight has to be.”

Despite the convulsions around Harvey, the division is in a late May knot. David Wright conspicuously hit two home runs during the three-game series in Washington. He had trouble moving because of an aching back and was kept from the field by Collins a week before in Queens. Any resurgence from the Mets‘ captain is a boon to the New Yorkers’ cause.

The Nationals fluctuated in a similar manner. Bryce Harper was granted a “mental day” off Wednesday to try to kick his slump. Yet, he came to the plate in the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter with a runner on and the Nationals down two runs.

Harper grounded out and the Nationals went on to lose, 2-0. His power sap has been ongoing for a month, dropping his average to .245. Washington needs to find a fix.

A 29-game gap precedes the next series — three games in D.C. at the end of June. Harvey, by then, could be back to his old self. Same for Harper.

The summer run for the division has just started.

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