When the New York Mets take on the Washington Nationals on Friday night, Matt Harvey will take on Stephen Strasburg.

Harvey is one of the game's hottest young pitchers.

"Obviously I'm still new to all this stuff," Harvey said. "I think I read an article about Dwight Gooden's Friday nights [at Shea Stadium]. It's an exciting time. I'm looking forward to it. I know the extra adrenaline is going to be there. It's going to be one of those things where you have to tone down."

The New York right-hander is 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA.

"I obviously appreciate all the hype and stuff like that, but that only comes with being prepared and being ready for each start," Harvey said. "Like I've said, the initial success is only going to mean anything if we continue that for the next couple of months. We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do. I'm looking forward to Friday in particular."