CINCINNATI -- After New York Mets right-hander Matt Harvey tossed 77 pitches in five scoreless innings on Sunday against the New York Yankees, manager Terry Collins warned that Harvey's two remaining regular-season starts could be of shorter length.

On the eve of Harvey returning to the mound, Collins was mum about how far the pitcher would go in Saturday's start against the Cincinnati Reds.

"I don't have any idea what he's going to do," Collins maintained. "We have a plan, but things change. I'm not going to talk about what we're going to expect or how we're going to work him until the game starts because things are different. If he goes farther, you're going say, 'What happened?' If he goes less, 'What happened?' So, until tomorrow, we'll see what he does."

Harvey sits at 176 2/3 innings -- 10 outs shy of the total that agent Scott Boras recently had cited as the desired cap for the entire year, including the postseason.

Of course, with the Mets' magic number to clinch the National League East down to three entering Friday's start against the Reds, much of the hullabaloo about limiting how much Harvey would pitch in his remaining regular-season appearances has lessened in terms of public importance.