Depth Chart

Murphy took a seven-game hitting streak into Sunday's game, batting .500 (14 for 28) in that span. He also had a home run, four RBI, five runs and five doubles in that span.

It was the first time this season Marcum pitched at least five full innings. He takes an 0-4 record and 6.75 ERA into a home start against the Reds Monday.

He was recalled last week and has been a pleasant surprise, allowing just one hit and one walk in 2 2/3 innings over the last three appearances.

"In the three games he's pitched since he's been back, I've seen much more confidence in his stuff -- much more confidence in his delivery," manager Terry Collins told MLB.com Saturday. "This is a new thing to him. But I thought the ball is getting more movement to it than it was before. I think his offspeed stuff is better than it was in the beginning."

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.

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.

"You’ve got to get out of that. Fly balls aren’t going to help you," Collins told Tejada.

Tejada has hit .227/.301/.295 with no home runs in 148 plate appearances this season. He has a 33 percent fly ball rate heading into Wednesday's game, according to Fangraphs.

"Well, we haven’t seen a lot of improvement. He has started to hit the ball a little harder the last four or five days," Alderson said. "It wasn’t until late May last year that we even addressed the topic with him. But it's important for him to just have good at-bats. I told him don’t worry about results right now."

Despite publicly acknowledging that the organization has discussed demoting Davis to Las Vegas, Alderson said that the team will not be forced into making a decision if Davis has not turned things around by a certain date.

“There is no timetable on Ike,” Alderson said.

Byrd is enjoying a productive May, batting .370 (10 for 27) with a .667 slugging percentage and 1.024 OPS in eight games (seven starts). He also has two doubles, two home runs and six RBI.

Harvey allowed one run on an infield single and then shortstop Ruben Tejada had a throwing error, after which another run came around to score. The Mets contend that the second run should be unearned, as a result of the error.

"I didn't think it was an earned run," Mets manager Terry Collins told MLB.com Saturday .

If the ruling is reversed, Harvey would be charged with just one run in 7 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to the season from 1.55 to 1.41. 

But don't assume he's back to normal. There's still that messy issue of the Mets instructing him to pitch to contact.

I don't mean to keep harping on something I heard once on an opposing team's broadcast, but with only three strikeouts again Thursday, Niese has no more than three in any of his last seven starts. He's averaging 4.5 strikeouts per nine innings this year after averaging 7.3 per nine last year.

If that doesn't change, I don't see how he's anything more than a matchups type in mixed leagues.

"I know that he's starting to get a little fatigued," Collins said. "He's fine to pitch, but that's why I'm going to try to keep him away from multi-inning save situations -- because it's still May and this guy's pitched so many games that aren't closing [situations]."

Parnell has appeared in 18 games this season, but only six for save opportunities. He has an 0.98 ERA in 18 1/3 innings, with 16 strikeouts and a 4-0 record. Collins praised Parnell, saying if it was up to the pitcher and not the manager, there would be no restriction on his workload.

"He wants to be out there," Collins said. "Right now, he wants to be out there when the game's on the line. And he doesn't care if it's the seventh inning, the eighth inning or the ninth inning."

Hefner allowed four runs in four innings of work, all coming in his fourth and final inning. He faced just two batters over the minimum in his first three innings, with one hit and walk as his only blemishes before he fell apart in the fourth.

The Cubs jumped on Hefner for four runs on four hits and a walk in the fourth inning. He also hit a batter. Hefner finished with three strikeouts, two walks and five hits allowed in four innings en route to an 8-2 loss.

The Mets have lost each of Hefner's starts this season, and he is 0-5 with a 5.00 ERA. Hefner will try to turn things around Friday against the Braves. 

Rice has made a major-league high 23 appearances this season. If he continues being used at this rate, Rice would break the Mets' record for appearances in a season. Manager Terry Collins has been happy with Rice's production, saying "Scott’s done a great job, he really has. So in those situations, he’s going to have to be the guy that steps up, and either gets his groundball or strikeout."

In 18 1/3 innings this season, Rice has a 3.44 ERA and a 3.84 FIP.

Wright went 3 for 4 with a solo home run, accounting for three of the team's eight hits. He added a stolen base, his ninth of the season.

Wright is now batting .312 on the season, and has been on fire since the start of May. He is hitting .364 in 14 games, with twice as many home runs (four) as in April. He has six home runs on the season, with 27 RBI.