PHILADELPHIA -- Amnesia, David Wright says, is a "tool that will come in handy," and one he expect to use Monday when the Mets have a day off for the first time since June 15. "I won't even think about [Dodgers starter Clayton] Kershaw until Tuesday."

It used to be that Wright would fuss about the next starting pitcher the Mets would face. If this 2009 were '05, he already would have peaked at some videos of Kershaw, the Dodgers' starter Tuesday night at Citi Field -- and "driven myself crazy."

Now Wright fights the compulsion. And, sometimes, he even wins.

Wright will do all he can Monday and the early hours of Tuesday afternoon -- he sleeps in, big time -- to treat Game 82 on the Mets' schedule as a no-trespassing zone.

"I need to stay away a little," Wright said. "Stay off my feet as much as I can, do nothing physically."

He's weary. He might not admit it, but his batting average -- 30 points lower than it was June 25 -- says so. He has five hits in his 41 most recent at-bats. None of them came in three games against the Phillies.

What is a soul to do at this point?

"Forget ... try to forget," Wright said. "Right now, we're bad. And I'm not helping much. I'd like to forget and enjoy the off-day."

But remember this much, the Mets have won the past five times they have played following a scheduled day off and eight times in the nine such games.

Pitching matchup
NYM: RHP Mike Pelfrey (6-3, 4.26 ERA)
Pelfrey rebounded from two subpar starts and produced his best performance of the season in his most recent start, limiting the Brewers to six hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings. He threw 107 pitches and walked two. Pelfrey has faced the Dodgers once in his career, a 3-2 Mets win last May. He was not involved in the decision after he pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out six. Pelfrey's ERA at Citi Field is 3.91, and he has allowed four home runs in 48 1/3 innings there. All six home runs against him have been hit by left-handed hitters. The nine active Dodgers who have faced him have batted .344 in 32 combined at-bats against him.

LAD: LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-5, 3.49 ERA)
Both sides to Kershaw's game were evident in his July 1 start against the Rockies. He kept Colorado's hitters off-balance and prevented them from making solid contact, but he was wild and erratic, walking five batters and exiting after throwing 97 pitches in five innings. For the day, Kershaw allowed one hit and struck out five. He has one career start against the Mets. He allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings in a game the Dodgers won, though he didn't, at Shea Stadium May 30 last year. Kershaw's ERA on the road this season is 5.54, nearly three times his ERA at Dodger Stadium.

Tidbits
In their past 12 games, the Mets have six hits in 50 at-bats, a .120 average, and have scored twice in the first inning. ... Johan Santana now has made 51 starts with the Mets. He has 25 victories. Dwight Gooden had 29 in his first 50, Frank Viola, Al Leiter and David Cone had 27, 26 and 25, respectively, in their first 50 starts.

This date in Mets history -- July 6:
With Gil Hodges, Charlie Neal and Rod Kanehl hitting home runs and Roger Craig pitching a complete game, the Mets beat the Cardinals, 10-3, at the Polo Grounds in their first 50th game on this date in 1962. They scored at least 10 for the fourth time in a 29-game sequence, having not scored that many in any of their first 50. They scored at least 10 runs once in their final 81 games, but they allowed at least 10 runs 23 times that year, including the three games in early July that directly preceded the July 6 victory. Coors Field wasn't involved.

The Mets beat the Cardinals, 10-3, again eight years later on July 6 with Tommie Agee hitting for the cycle at Shea Stadium. A Met has hit for the cycle on July 3 (Alex Ochoa in Philadelphia in 1996), July 4 (Keith Hernandez in Atlanta in 1985) and July 6 (Agee).

Tickets
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On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• SNY

On radio
• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español)

Up next
• Wednesday: Mets (Oliver Perez, 1-2, 9.97) vs. Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 3-4, 3.91), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Mets (Livan Hernandez, 5-4, 4.56) vs. Dodgers (Randy Wolf, 3-3, 3.49), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Friday: Mets (Fernando Nieve, 3-2, 2.73) vs. Reds (Micah Owings, 6-8, 4.48), 7:10 p.m. ET