LOS ANGELES -- Matt Harvey insisted he was not seeking an alibi. Still, Harvey suggested it will take adjustments to feel sharp pitching with a full week between starts.
Harvey allowed three runs on seven hits and five walks in five innings on Saturday and the New York Mets ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Harvey's last outing had been the previous Saturday, when he allowed one unearned run in six innings against the Cincinnati Reds.
The only other time that Harvey pitched with two extra days of rest this season, he groused in Philadelphia on May 8 about not feeling sharp, too.
This time, the two extra days of rest was caused by a team day off in addition to a six-man rotation. It again will be an issue his next start because the Mets have a team off-day on Thursday after completing this road trip in San Francisco.
"With the six-man and then the day off, throwing last Saturday and then this Saturday is tough," Harvey said. "We're all having to deal with it. It's not an excuse why things didn't go well today. I just have to do a better job of finding a way to get a rhythm throughout an extended period of rest like that."
Harvey said he might throw off a mound twice instead of his customary once between starts to try to stay sharp.
"Obviously one bullpen didn't work this week," he said.
Harvey called lasting only five innings "unacceptable." It was his second shortest start of the season.
"I had a tough day finding a rhythm," Harvey said. "After the first, I was pretty amped up. Everything felt good and fresh. And then, all of a sudden, I kind of got out of whack and really just couldn't find the strike zone or find a rhythm that I wanted to find. It was a battle. It was tough. It was one of those days."
He suggested there was no extra pressure pitching opposite Zack Greinke, who threw seven scoreless innings to lower his MLB-best ERA to 1.48.
"Our job as pitchers on the opposing team is to go out and last as long as we can and keep the game within reach," Harvey said. "Against a guy like that, three runs is too many. And only go five is unacceptable."
Harvey also dealt with a nose bleed, just as he did during a one-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox on May 7, 2013.
Harvey said "sometimes the weather, travel, going on long plane trips" induces the issue.
"I've had them for a while," he said. "It's something I had as a kid, and I've kind of dealt with the last couple of years."