Cincinnati @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 26, 2015 ) Cincinnati 1, NY Mets 2

The New York Mets have made the decision to shift to a six-man starting rotation for the "foreseeable future" and among the reasons is to reduce the workload of ace Matt Harvey in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. Harvey will be on the mound Saturday as the Mets continue their three-game series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.

New York general manager Sandy Alderson on Friday laid out the team's plans for six starters, pointing to the need to manage the innings of Harvey and their other young pitchers. "If we were to continue with a five-man rotation, given the fact that he's pitched great - he’s pitched seven innings pretty regularly - those numbers get exceedingly high," Alderson said of Harvey. The Mets, who scored only 11 runs during their 1-7 road trip, continued to struggle at the plate with only two hits in the series opener but they were enough to produce a 2-1 victory. The Reds amassed 43 hits during their three-game series in Pittsburgh but were limited to five singles Friday in falling to 14-24 away from home.

TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), WPIX (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Michael Lorenzen (3-2, 2.56 ERA) vs. Mets RH Matt Harvey (7-5, 3.18)

Lorenzen matched his longest outing of the season by limiting the Miami Marlins to two runs over seven innings Sunday to win his second straight start. The 23-year-old rookie displayed much better control, walking only one batter after issuing at least three base on balls over his previous five turns. Lorenzen has been tough on right-handed batters, holding them to a collective .213 batting average.

Harvey appears to be back on track following a rocky four-start stretch in which he posted a 1-3 record and was tagged for 20 runs and eight homers over 25 innings. He was a hard-luck loser in a 1-0 setback at Atlanta on Sunday despite surrendering one run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. That came on the heels of seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball versus Toronto on June 16, which boosted Harvey's home record to 4-2 in seven starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Mets RF Curtis Granderson has homered four times in the last six games.

2. Reds 2B Brandon Phillips has hit safely in all 30 of his career road games versus New York.

3. Mets 3B Ruben Tejada exited Friday's game after he was hit in the elbow by a pitch but X-rays were negative.

PREDICTION: Mets 4, Reds 2