New York Mets

          Morning Briefing: It's Matt Harvey ... and Logan Verrett Day!

          Right-hander Logan Verrett starts Thursday on the road against the Boston Red Sox. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

          PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The New York Mets will have two chances Thursday to snap a five-game Grapefruit League losing skid.

          Matt Harvey opposes Houston Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel at 1:10 p.m. ET in Port St. Lucie (SNY). Harvey’s most recent start came against minor leaguers because of forecasted rain in Viera that eventually resulted in the cancellation of the Grapefruit League game there that afternoon. He is expected to become the first pitcher to bat in a game for the Mets this spring training.

          David Wright is due to play against the Astros in the first of back-to-back games at Tradition Field.

          Meanwhile, Logan Verrett starts opposite Boston Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly at 1:05 p.m. ET in Fort Myers on the third and final day of the Mets’ excursion to Florida’s Gulf Coast.

          The Mets are 7-11-2 in Grapefruit League play.

          THURSDAY’S NEWS REPORTS:

          • Michael Conforto departed Wednesday’s game with lower-back tightness after striking out in the fourth inning. Read more in the Post, Newsday, Record and at NJ.com and MLB.com.

          • Bartolo Colon tossed six scoreless innings, but Buddy Carlyle surrendered a walk-off three-run homer to former Mets farmhand Ezequiel Carrera and the Blue Jays beat the Mets 3-1 on Wednesday in Dunedin. Colon struck Troy Tulowitzki on the right hand with a pitch in the fourth inning. After X-rays were taken, the Jays announced that Tulowitzki suffered a bone bruise to knuckles but no fracture. Read more on Colon in the Times, Post, Newsday, Record and at NJ.com and MLB.com.

          • Harvey is profiled in the fashion section of the Post. “I think a lot of women would be impressed by my shoe collection,” Harvey tells the newspaper.

          • The Mets are worth $1.65 billion, sixth-most in Major League Baseball, Forbes computes.

          • Mets executive VP Lou DePaoli tells Neil Best in Newsday that Mets season-ticket sales have doubled over the same point last year. DePaoli also told the newspaper that individual-game-ticket sales are up 23 percent over the same point in 2015.

          • Anthony DiComo at MLB.com forecasts the Mets’ Opening Day roster. DiComo notes that team officials are considering carrying six relievers to open the season, including the suspended Hansel Robles. That would allow the Mets to carry both Eric Campbell and Matt Reynolds, even if Asdrubal Cabrera is active April 3 in Kansas City. The Mets do not need a full complement of relievers to open the season because they play only twice in the first five days and have starting pitchers -- including Noah Syndergaard -- potentially available to work out of the bullpen during the opening series. If the Mets carry only six relievers, including Sean Gilmartin, that could mean neither Erik Goeddel nor Jim Henderson on the Opening Day roster.

          • Keith Hernandez’s throwback jersey was the most popular in New York State in 2015, surpassing Patrick Ewing’s throwback Knicks jersey, Evan Grossman writes in the Daily News.

          • Maryland basketball coach Mark Turgeon happily attended Game 5 of the World Series at Citi Field, Howie Kussoy writes in the Post.

          BIRTHDAYS: Jose Valverde turns 38. ... Garry Templeton is 60. ... Jesus Alou is 74.

          TWEET OF THE DAY:

          YOU’RE UP: Does the Mets’ Grapefruit League record concern you?