Daniel Murphy can hit left-handed pitching. In fact, the rookie entered Wednesday's game 4-for-7 with a homer and two walks as a big-leaguer against southpaws, after hitting .298 against them at Class AA Binghamton this year.
Still, Mets interim manager Jerry Manuel doesn't intend to make Murphy his full-time left fielder with Fernando Tatis sidelined for at least the rest of the regular season with a Grade III separation of his right shoulder. Tatis suffered the injury Tuesday at Nationals Park when he lunged forward and hit the ground while trying to catch a sinking liner off the bat of Washington pitcher Odalis Perez.
In Tatis' absence, Manuel plans to return to a platoon of Murphy and fellow rookie Nick Evans. Manuel indicated that the Mets have too many other left-handed batters in the lineup -- including Carlos Delgado and Ryan Church -- for Murphy to start against southpaws.
"You can't give the opponent that many guys," Manuel said.
With the Mets facing a right-hander for just the second time in the last 10 games on Wednesday, Murphy started and went 2-for-5 with an RBI triple. Manuel has raved about Murphy's plate discipline, suggesting his strike-zone command is far more advanced than that of most young players.
Evans' first start since Tatis' injury is expected to come Friday in Atlanta, when the Mets face southpaw Jo-Jo Reyes.
METS 9, NATIONALS 7: Carlos Beltran slugged two home runs, and Olympic bronze medalist Brandon Knight picked up his first big-league win at age 32 as the Mets maintained a half-game lead in the wild-card standings over the Brewers. The Nats, down by six runs at one point, brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but ex-Nat Luis Ayala entered and struck out PH Roger Bernadina for his eighth save in 10 chances as a Met.
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