Valdespin will play right field and hit leadoff. He will face Cardinals' ace Adam Wainwright. It's Valdespin's first start since May 8. He's hitting .235/.297/.426 in 68 at-bats.

Hawkins was asked about the controversy surrounding Valdespin's recent hit by pitch against the Pirates. Valdespin hit a home run with the team down by six runs and celebrated a little too much. The following day, manager Terry Collins pinch hit Valdespin expecting him to be hit by a pitch.

Hawkins couldn't defend his teammate, saying "he showed absolutely no respect. If you're going to pimp it, you're going to suffer the consequences." Hawkins added, "I have no problem defending my teammates, but some things, you just can't defend against."

Valdespin is hitting .235/.297/.426 in 68 at-bats.

"I don’t answer to fans," Collins said, per the New York Post. "They don’t play this game. They have no idea what goes on. They have no idea what goes on in there, they have absolutely no idea what it means to be a professional teammate at this level. I’ve been doing it a lot longer than a lot of people. He’s fine. He handled it great."

Collins also denied a report indicating Valdespin tried to avoid pinch-hitting Saturday because he knew he would get hit or Valdespin not wanting to bat later in the game after getting hit.

"He didn’t want to hit the second time on Saturday, after he got hit," Collins said. "(His forearm) did swell up. That’s when you walk in that batter’s box and say, 'OK let’s go.' If they threw at him again, we would have answered. If they threw at him we would have answered, there would have been a definitive answer."