Fernando Martinez isn’t scheduled to start tonight against the Marlins, but not as punishment for his bone-headed gaffe on Wednesday.
Manager Jerry Manuel indicated last night that he plans to start Angel Pagan in right field, with Carlos Beltran back in center and Gary Sheffield in left against Florida lefty Sean West.
TONIGHT’S PREVIEW: Marlins at Mets
As for Martinez’s mental error in the sixth inning Wednesday — he stood at home plate as catcher Wil Nieves misplayed his pop fly and was thrown out at first base — Manuel said the rookie has learned his lesson without a scolding from the manager. Martinez was booed heavily for the game’s remainder.
“Obviously the reception he got made him realize, ‘Hey, this is serious,’ ” Manuel said. “This is a place where hustle and those type of things are big, so for me to pile on at that time, it wasn’t the right time.
“I don’t think you’ll ever see him not run a ball out [again]. I do think he will win the crowd. He’s got some obstacles he’s dealing with now. He’s dealing with the opposing team and he’s dealing with his own crowd.”
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David Wright takes one whiff of Citi Field and suddenly becomes the King of Whiff.
After a 10-game road trip on which he subdued his burgeoning strikeout total, Wright is back home and trying to figure out how to make contact.
On Wednesday, Wright whiffed four times, a career high. That gave him six strikeouts in two games and 50 for the season.
“What I’m seeing a little bit is I think David feels he has to be the guy that gets guys in from base,” Manuel said. “He is going into stretches where he is just a little off, but it happens to come at critical times.”
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Luis Castillo is quietly on a tear. He’ll take a streak of having reached base in seven plate appearances into tonight’s game.
Castillo, who went 2-for-2 with three walks against the Nationals on Wednesday, is hitting .381 (8-for-21) with eight runs scored over his last seven games.