Matt Harvey made his first start since the fiasco over how many innings he's allowed to throw this season, and it unfortunately didn't go well. Luckily for the Mets, the Nationals bullpen imploded, which allowed them to tie, and eventually take the lead in a game that appeared lost.
Harvey pitched 5.1 innings, which pushed his total on the season to 171.2. While Scott Boras has publicly said that Harvey's limit of 180 innings is a hard cap, the Mets don't feel that way. But they're still going to make sure to limit the number of times he takes the mound as the season comes to an end.
Mets plan for now, per Alderson, is for Harvey to pitch against Yankees and maybe end of season vs Nats. Skipped Monday. Likely for Verrett.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) September 9, 2015
Washington's series against the Yankees starts next Friday, which means Harvey would get at least nine days of rest. If the Mets were to clinch the NL East before their last three games, which take place against the Nationals, it would be unlikely for Harvey to pitch. Ideally they could get two more starts out of him, which could either take place in just the NLDS, or potentially even the NLCS.
The Mets would also like to give another pitcher some rest if it's possible.
Alderson says Mets would like to skip [Jacob] deGrom if they can swing it.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) September 9, 2015
deGrom is having a fantastic season, and if not for the incredible pitching talent that inhabits the NL, he'd likely be a serious contender for the Cy Young award. However he's thrown 29.1 more innings than he did last year, and while deGrom doesn't have a limit like Harvey does, it would be great to be able to give him some rest. But if the division is up for grabs during the final series of the season, the Mets won't hold either of them back.