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Mets pitcher Matt Harvey can only watch as team captain David Wright gets thrown inside.

(Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger)

Not only does Mets pitcher Matt Harvey want to hurry back to the mound to help his struggling team win, he also wants to protect his captain.

Pitchers have not been shy about throwing inside to third baseman David Wright this season -- with little retaliation -- and Harvey, the hard-throwing right-hander still recuperating from Tommy John surgery, is promising to get even when he gets healthy.

"It's hard for me to watch David keep getting pushed back," Harvey told the Daily News. "It's tough for him. He's had to adapt to a different style. And it's frustrating to watch from the sidelines and not be able to do something about it.

"I"m not happy about it. It's not right how guys are being able to manipulate his entire at-bat by pitching him up and in."

Harvey, who is likely out for this season (despite his pleas to return earlier), feels helpless.

"It's frustrating to watch from the sidelines and not be able to do something about it," Harvey said. "When it would happen once in a while last year, I'd be the first guy to throw one behind somebody's ear. And I don't forget. Once I'm back, I'll be excited about getting the chance to help the captain.

“It’s out there, everybody knows,’’ Harvey added. “If guys don’t know by now, that something needs to be done, it’s going to continue to happen and that’s not acceptable."

Mets pitchers have hit batters, but not in apparent retaliation. Meanwhile, Wright is batting just .270, with a .329 on-base-percentage and a.365 slugging percentage -- all below his usual numbers. He is in the midst of a 2-for-31 slump, and he sounds like he's looking for some help from his teammates.

“[Pitchers] always tend to pitch me inside," he told the Daily News. “And I’ll say this: When we used to play the Cardinals and [manager] Tony LaRussa was there, if you even nicked Albert Pujols, they were getting two of your guys, and (the pitches) were going to be right in the middle of your back.

“So I think there’s something to be said for having your teammates’ back. Last year we did a couple of things, and I don’t want to get into specifics -- I don’t want to get anybody in trouble-- but we did a couple of things where pitchers had my back."