ATLANTA -- Matt Harvey expressed satisfaction with limiting the damage against him Thursday. Still, the Dark Knight felt like he fell back into a mechanical rut in the New York Mets’ 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

Harvey allowed two runs on eight hits in six innings in a no-decision. He struck out three and issued no walks in a 91-pitch effort.

“It was definitely a struggle,” Harvey said. “I went back to not feeling as great as I did in a couple of starts before this. I was able to make some quality pitches when I needed to and guys made the plays behind me. A couple of balls that [center fielder Alejandro] De Aza tracked down helped me a lot and helped me get through six innings. It was a struggle, but when I needed to make a pitch, I was able to do that.”

Harvey had a 6.08 ERA through 10 starts this season. He then allowed only two runs in 20 innings over his next three outings as he appeared to hit a groove. But last Friday at Citi Field he surrendered four runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings against Atlanta in a 5-1 loss. And then he again surrendered more hits than he preferred in a Thursday rematch with the Braves.

“As many hits as I gave up was not ideal,” Harvey said. “I was able to locate for the most part early in at-bats. The strikeouts obviously were down. But I’m happy about pounding the zone and not giving free passes like I did last time. It’s mostly a mechanical thing. Obviously it’s been a struggle mechanically pretty much all year. I’d say it’s one of those starts where I really had to battle kind of the whole time. It’s tough. We’ve got to flush this start and keep moving forward.

“When you’re out there, the last thing you want to think about is your mechanics. For some reason this year it’s been popping into my head, and just pitch for pitch doesn’t feel the same. It’s one of those things I’ve got to battle through and keep pushing forward. We’re going to do that next start.”