Mets-Nationals Preview

Unheralded Mike Morse has the same amount of homers in the last three days as he hit in the first 130 games -- and nearly five years -- of his career.

Morse will try to homer for the fourth straight game Tuesday night when the Washington Nationals continue their three-game set against the New York Mets.

With both teams playing out the string of losing seasons, there are opportunities for callups to prove they belong in the majors. That's exactly what Morse, whose contract was purchased Aug. 17 from Triple-A Syracuse, is trying to do.

After spending four-plus years in the Seattle organization, the Nationals acquired Morse on June 28 for Ryan Langerhans. He had only three homers -- all in 2005 -- in 300 at-bats with the Mariners, and none in his first 24 at-bats with Washington (53-103).

Then Morse went deep in the final two games of a weekend series against Atlanta, and added a go-ahead solo shot among his three hits in a 2-1 victory in Monday's series opener.

He was used at first and third base the past two games, started in right field Monday, and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said he may play second base before the season ends.

"I've come to kind of like it. A new day, it's something else," said Morse, who debuted as a shortstop with Seattle in 2005. "You get a lot of views of the field."

Morse's most recent homer helped give starter Ross Detwiler his first major league victory after six losses. Detwiler allowed one run in six innings.

New York (67-90) has suffered 90 losses in a season for the first time in five years. The Mets went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position Monday, en route to their fifth loss in seven games.

"Obviously if you're going to win those games, you got to find a way to get those hits and get those runs in and we were unable to do that," manager Jerry Manuel said.

New York's Mike Pelfrey (10-12, 5.08 ERA) will try to avoid losing three straight starts for the first time in 2009. The right-hander yielded four runs over six innings of a 5-2 loss to Atlanta last Wednesday.

Pelfrey is 3-5 with a 3.93 ERA in 11 career starts against the Nationals, including 1-2 with a 4.12 ERA in three this year.

Rookie J.D. Martin (5-4, 4.71) will get the start for Washington. Martin lasted three innings and gave up five runs Thursday, when he did not get a decision in a 7-6 loss to the Dodgers.

The right-hander made his major league debut at home against the Mets on July 20, when he allowed five runs over four innings in a 6-2 loss. He fared better in New York on Sept. 18, giving up two runs over 5 1/3 innings of a 6-5 victory.