Matt Harvey dominated the Rockies on Tuesday, scattering four hits over eight shutout innings, but the deeper the 26-year-old goes in the season, the closer he gets to an innings threshold the Mets have set for their ace, who is returning from Tommy John surgery.
With the Mets in playoff contention for the first time since 2008, the club faces a tough decision with Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, whose innings have all been heavily monitored this season.
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One thing is for sure: The club will not be taking the Stephen Strasburg approach with its trio of young stars.
"We are going to do everything in our power to keep from shutting this guy down — any of those guys down," Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters after his team's 4-0 win. "If we get into September and we've got to have the game Matt Harvey pitches, he's going to pitch it. But that's why we've got to make sure he's OK to do that."
In September 2012, the Nationals decided to shut down Strasburg, who — like Harvey — was pitching in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. The Nats made the playoffs but lost in the NLDS to the Cardinals as Strasburg, who was left off the 25-man roster, watched from the dugout.
Although Harvey is showing no signs of a Tommy John hangover, he has already pitched 148 innings, putting him on pace for 212, which the Mets hope he doesn't reach until the postseason.
The Mets will likely use a spot starter to push Harvey and the other Mets pitchers back a day in the rotation. The team could also return to a six-man rotation, which it briefly used earlier in the season, to give their starters enough time off to be effective when it counts.
"When we get down to the stretch, there's probably going to be some more issues like that where I don't want to come out at all — and no pitcher at that point wants to — but it is what it is in order to get me into October," Harvey said.