Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Gary Sheffield LF
Jeff Francoeur RF
Fernando Tatis 1B
Omir Santos C
Anderson Hernandez SS
Bobby Parnell (2-4, 3.94 ERA) P
It’s do or die time as the Mets begin an 11-game home stand starting with the San Francisco Giants tonight. The next three series will reveal a lot about the makeup of this team in its current incarnation. The Mets face three teams with winning records and two in their division. They can make up some serious ground against the Braves and the Phillies if they can scrape together some wins.
Parnell makes his second Major League start and will try to last longer than his last outing, when he threw just 2 1/3 innings with a limited pitch count. He was tagged with two earned runs.
Wright is a little banged up, but he is in the lineup. It’s a good thing, too, as the Mets need his bat. It’s also good to see Sheffield in the lineup. The Mets finally have a threatening middle of the lineup with Wright, Sheffield and Francoeur one right after another.
