Mets ace Harvey looks OK for Opening Day start

[March 30, 2016]  (Reuters) - New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey is likely to start in Sunday's Opening Day game for the National League champions after taking care of a blood clot that had developed in his bladder, the pitcher said on Tuesday.

Harvey, who was scratched from his scheduled final spring training start on Monday for an undisclosed illness, revealed that he passed the clot, brought on by a urinary infection, on Monday without issue and felt fine.

"Everything feels great," Harvey, 27, told reporters. "I feel relieved that everything's clear and good to go."

The Mets are taking on the Royals in Kansas City, in a rematch of last season's World Series teams, to kick off the 2016 Major League Baseball season.

Harvey said he first felt discomfort while urinating on Sunday, with increased pain during the night and reported his symptoms to the team's training staff on Monday.

"I didn't really know what was going on," Harvey said. "I was having trouble using the restroom, and obviously any time there's discoloration in your urine, it's not a great feeling.

"So I didn't know what was going on with my stomach. But we had some tests yesterday and everything's fine now."

(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Steve Keating.)

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