Matt Harvey struggled against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night after lobbying to make the start amid a run of troubling appearances.

Harvey's ERA increased to 6.08 after he allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings. He left the clubhouse without speaking to reporters after the game.

Terry Collins acknowledged serious consideration needs to be given to at least temporarily bouncing Harvey from the rotation. A team official said it's too early to determine how the Mets will handle the right-hander's struggles.

"Right now we've got to think what's not just best for Matt, but what's best for us moving forward at the moment," Collins said. "There's a lot of things to consider. That's why we're not going to make any rash judgments tonight. We're going to sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow."