Florida @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 31, 2011 ) Florida 2, NY Mets 3

THE STORY: The New York Mets don't have much to play for in terms of postseason hopes, but they are beginning to inch closer to their first winning season since 2008. The Mets, who have won five of their last six, are within four games of .500, and they'll try to continue that momentum when they wrap up a five-game series against the visiting Florida Marlins on Thursday. The Mets swept a doubleheader Monday and held on for a 3-2 victory Wednesday after Florida won Tuesday. Florida has lost three of four and is well on its way to a second consecutive losing season and perhaps its first last-place finish in the National League East since 2007.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Florida, SNY

PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Clay Hensley (2-5, 5.40 ERA) vs. Mets RH Miguel Batista (3-2, 4.60).

Hensley's tenure as a starter began on a promising note when he threw five scoreless innings to beat the Mets on July 18 in New York, but he had to wait more than a month to get his next win. Hensley held the Phillies to three runs over 5 2/3 innings in Friday's 6-5 win to improve to 2-3 with a 6.08 ERA in eight starts this season. Hensley is 2-2 with a 3.63 ERA in 17 games (four starts) against the Mets. New York needed a spot starter with Jon Niese on the disabled list, so they called up Batista from Triple A Buffalo, where he went 3-0 with a 4.24 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) after the Mets signed him July 4. The 40-year-old started the season with the Cardinals and went 3-2 with a 4.60 ERA in 26 games, but only started once. Batista has made eight starts and 17 relief appearances against the Marlins and is 2-4 with a 3.12 ERA.

ABOUT THE MARLINS (60-75): Florida won the first four meetings with the Mets in New York this season, but the Marlins' bats have gone quiet in this series. They managed only one run in each of Monday's games, and after a six-run outburst fueled by one big inning Tuesday, they were shut out after a two-run first inning Wednesday. The Marlins miss shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who has been out since Aug. 2 with a shoulder injury. Florida is 10-36 when Ramirez is not in the starting lineup. He could return as early as Friday.

ABOUT THE METS (65-69): The Mets have benefited from the return of their own star shortstop as Jose Reyes went 2-for-4 and scored the go-ahead run Thursday in his third game back from the disabled list. Reyes has a major league-leading 51 multi-hit games. They also got a needed contribution Thursday from Jason Bay, who snapped an 0-for-17 skid with three hits and an RBI. Bay, who is in his second year with the Mets, is hitting .234 with nine home runs. He batted .259 with six homers last year, one year after he had 36 homers and 119 RBIs for Boston.

FINAL PITCH: With Batista's start Thursday, the Mets will become the 10th major-league team he has pitched for, making him one of three active pitchers who have played for at least 10 teams. Octavio Dotel (12) and Bruce Chen (10) are the others.