Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
Daniel Murphy 1B
David Wright 3B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Jeremy Reed LF
Alex Cora SS
Brian Schneider C
Livan Hernandez (5-5, 5.10 ERA) P
The Mets roll into Washington, D.C., tonight to face the only team worse than them in the division, the Nationals. The Mets and their depleted offense will try to muster some runs against rookie right-hander J.D. Martin. Martin is 8-3, with a 2.66 ERA in 15 starts in Triple A. It could be a tall order. If Martin can be that effective against minor league teams, which basically is what the Mets are playing like right now, then he could give them fits at the plate.
Hernandez, who has an excellent record this year against the Nats, will try to do it again. He pitched a complete game against them in May and has won two decisions against them this season. That was before he lost four starts in a row and allowed 15 runs in his two most recent games, however.
It won’t help that Gary Sheffield is riding the pine again for this game. He’s still trying to recover from the leg “cramps” he suffered in Friday’s game against the Braves. The Mets need a good win after another terrible loss yesterday. The Nats probably provide them the best chance for that to happen.