ATLANTA - Mets manager Terry Collins says he has spoken with Matt Harvey about having the ace stay in New York's six-man rotation.

In his first season following Tommy John surgery, Harvey is 12-7 with a 2.88 ERA in 26 starts and 171 2-3 innings. Harvey's agent said Dr. James Andrews, who operated on Harvey two years ago, expressed concern about exceeding 180 innings.

"We're all on the same page," Collins said. "We need to get him out there a little more consistently."

Harvey was not available for comment before Sunday's game against Atlanta.

With three weeks left in the regular season, the Mets are on track to win the NL East and make their first post-season appearance since 2006. They would open the NL division series on Oct. 9.

"If we get in the post-season, we've got to have Matt Harvey ready to pitch, and I don't need him to have 15 days off," Collins said. So we've got to come up with a plan that's going to get him out there a little bit more."

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AP freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd contributed to this report.