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Pelfrey, Mets look to keep Nationals winless on road

Apr 25, 2009 - 4:49 AM By Matt Beardmore Stats Writer

Washington (3-12) at NY Mets (7-9) 1:10 p.m. EDT

FLUSHING, New York (AP) -- In his last start, Mike Pelfrey had a memorable yet very forgettable appearance at Citi Field. On Saturday afternoon, the right-hander looks for his first win at the New York Mets' new ballpark while keeping the Washington Nationals winless on the road.

Pelfrey (1-0, 8.10 ERA) missed his last start with tendinitis in his right forearm, but Mets manager Jerry Manuel is confident he'll be ready to make his third start of the season Saturday after throwing batting practice before New York's 6-4 loss at St. Louis on Tuesday.

"(The throwing session) was good," Manuel told the team's official Web site. "He probably didn't quite have the command that you would like to see, but he didn't feel anything. It was nice and easy. He had good movement, but I thought the command could have been a little better."

The same could be said of April 13 when Pelfrey started in New York's first regular-season game at Citi Field. Pelfrey was tagged for five runs and eight hits in five innings in a 6-5 loss to San Diego.

He surrendered a homer to Jody Gerut on his third pitch of the game and tripped in the second inning while making his delivery.

"It was pretty embarrassing," Pelfrey said.

The 6-foot-7 righty is 2-3 with a 3.86 ERA in eight career starts against Washington. The last time he faced the Nationals, Pelfrey allowed one run and seven hits in seven innings, but the Mets managed only four hits in a 1-0 loss on Sept. 16.

Pelfrey won't just be up against the Nationals lineup Saturday, he'll be facing an edict made by Manuel prior to Friday's 4-3 win over Washington that changes could be made to the rotation if improvements aren't made soon.

"It's too early to jump off a bridge, I'll say that," Manuel said. "I'm at the bridge. So, if I'm at the bridge, I've got to take some folks with me."

Nationals starter Daniel Cabrera (0-1, 4.50), meanwhile, looks to give Washington its first win on the road (0-7) this season in his first career start against the Mets. Signed to a one-year deal in the offseason, the right-hander has not made a great impression in the nation's capital after playing his first five seasons in Baltimore.

In Sunday's 7-4 loss to Florida, Cabrera gave up two runs and three hits in a five-inning outing, but in three starts, he has more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six).

He'll face a Mets club that is among the NL leaders with a .288 batting average. New York, though, was just 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position in Friday's victory.

Led by Luis Castillo and Fernando Tatis' two-hit performances, the Mets pounded out 11 hits in the series opener. New York has 10 or more hits in a game nine times this season.

Carlos Beltran extended his hitting streak to seven in Friday's win with a third-inning triple. He drove in Castillo for his 1,000th career RBI. In 79 career games against the Nationals, Beltran is batting .303 with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs.

Carlos Delgado is just 3-for-23 in his last six games, but has two home runs and six RBIs in three career at-bats versus Cabrera.

Washington's Nick Johnson has hit safely in eight straight games, batting .438 (14-for-32) during this stretch.