Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
Daniel Murphy 1B
David Wright 3B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Cory Sullivan LF
Angel Berroa SS
Brian Schneider C
Mike Pelfrey (7-5, 5.07 ERA) P
The Mets try to win only their second series since taking three out of four from the Cardinals on June 25. They’ll make that attempt against the Nationals’ Craig Stammen, who is coming off of three quality starts.
Pelfrey is coming off the worse game of his career after giving up nine runs, including two home runs, to the Braves. He’ll need to turn it around in a hurry. Pelfrey beat the Nats in his only appearance against them this season but has a 2-3 record before 2009.
The Mets are hoping a couple of Angels (Pagan and Berroa) can provide them with a lift. Pagan leads off again and has been a nice catalyst, even if batters behind him don’t give him a lot of help. Berroa gives Alex Cora a day off and starts at shortstop.
Sullivan also gets a start tonight. Maybe skipper Jerry Manuel hopes an infusion of fresh blood will shake the Mets out of their offensive doldrums. The only problem is neither is a heavy hitter, so don’t expect any home runs coming off of their bats.
The Mets will look to Francoeur and his hot bat for the offensive explosion they need. He’s batting .363, with seven RBI and a home run since joining the Mets.