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FIRST PITCH: The Mets send Jeremy Hefner to the mound on Wednesday night in a rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Hefner opposes right-hander Kyle Kendrick.

Wednesday’s news reports:

• Dillon Gee had his shortest career start and the Phillies beat the Mets, 8-3, Tuesday. Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Star-Ledger, Times, Newsday, Record and MLB.com.

• Zack Wheeler was charged with four runs (one earned) on eight hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings as Las Vegas lost at Fresno, 4-1. Read the full minor league recap here. Read more in Newsday.

• Columnist John Harper in the Daily News notes the Mets have agent Scott Boras to thank -- yes, thank -- for drafting Matt Harvey. Because of Harvey’s perceived asking price, he slipped to the third round of the draft out of high school and did not sign. Instead, Harvey attended North Carolina and was drafted by the Mets three years later, receiving a $2.52 million signing bonus.

• Ike Davis, who is 4-for-27 on the season and did not play Tuesday against Cliff Lee, is unconcerned. “I have more hits than last year at this time,” Davis told Mike Puma in the Post. Davis suggested he has been unlucky because pitchers have been painting the outer corner of the plate. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Newsday, Record and MLB.com.

• Collin Cowgill is hitting .130 (3-for-23) on the season despite becoming the first player in Mets history to hit a grand slam in his debut with the team. “It’s definitely frustrating when you’re not having success,” Cowgill told Mark Hale in the Post. “I’m a competitor. I want to get a hit every time I’m in the box.”

• Daniel Murphy, on the other hand, is hitting .333. And Terry Collins suggested the right intercostal strain Murphy suffered during spring training may be a factor -- in a positive sense -- in that it prevented Murphy from overworking and taxing himself. “The injury occurred, and it kept this guy from working himself to death, too,” Collins said. “That might be a difference. The game starts, and he still has got a lot of strength this time of year.” Read more in the Daily News.

• Jared Diamond in the Journal looks at the Mets’ patience -- or, perhaps, over-patience -- at the plate. The Mets don’t even swing at strikes. Writes Diamond:

History shows that teams that walk a lot tend to win a lot. In the past 10 years, the team that had the most walks finished the season with an average final record of 95-67.

The Mets have taken that to heart. According to the baseball statistics website FanGraphs, 49.4 percent of pitches thrown to the Mets this season were deemed to be in the strike zone -- fifth-most in baseball. Nonetheless, they had swung at only 60.8 percent of those strikes, which ranked 26th.

That discrepancy indicates that Mets hitters make a conscious effort to work the count, even if it means taking a strike.

• Israel and Honduras will meet in a soccer friendly at Citi Field on June 2.

• Mike Pelfrey will not face the Mets this weekend in Minnesota. Pelfrey, with his mother in attendance, allowed six runs in two innings last night at Kansas City. Read more in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

• From the bloggers … John Delcos at Mets Report examines whether Murphy should move to a middle-of-the-order slot in the lineup. … Each time Harvey pitches well, the respect level for the Mets goes up as well, writes The Eddie Kranepool Society. .. With a blowout brewing, Shannon from Mets Police began thinking about his DVR.

BIRTHDAYS: Frank Lary, who played for the Mets in the early ’60s, was born on this date in 1930.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

7-1-1 in last 9 @nyislanders #playoffs come on!

— Ralph Macchio (@ralphmacchio) April 10, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Will Ike Davis turn things around?

PHILADELPHIA -- Here's the official announcement from the Mets on an upcoming soccer friendly at Citi Field:

The New York Mets today announced the Israeli national soccer team will play the Honduran national team at Citi Field Sunday, June 2 at 5:30 p.m. This match will mark Israel’s first New York appearance in over 35 years.

Tickets start at $20 and will go on sale Monday, April 15 at 10:00 a.m. at Mets.com/Soccer and (718) 507-TIXX. There will be a special presale for Mets Season Ticket Holders and Citi Private Pass starting this Thursday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. at http://www.citiprivatepass.com/SoccerPresale. The game will take place rain or shine. Gates will open 4:00 p.m.

The match will take place on the same day as the Celebrate Israel Parade, the annual celebration up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

The New York region is home to the largest Jewish and Honduran populations outside of Israel and Honduras. More than 1.5 million Jews reside in New York City, Long Island and Westchester, while almost 100,000 Hondurans live in the New York, New Jersey and Long Island region.

The Israeli national team is ranked No. 66 in the world and led by manager Eli Guttman. On March 26, Israel defeated Northern Ireland 2-0 in a World Cup Qualifier in Belfast. The national team currently features several players from the English Premiere League: Tal Ben Haim (Queens Park Rangers), Itay Shechter (Swansea City) and Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea).

Honduras, which qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is ranked 55 in the world. Led by coach Luis Fernando Suárez, Honduras lost to Panama 2-0 in a World Cup Qualifier March 26 in Panama City. The national team currently features several players from the English Premiere League: Maynor Figueroa (Wigan), Roger Espinoza (Wigan) and Wilson Palacios (Stoke City).

The Israel-Honduras match marks the third straight year that Citi Field has hosted an international soccer competition. Ecuador and Greece battled to a 1-1 tie before a near sell-out crowd of 39,656 on June 7, 2011 in the first soccer game at Citi Field, and Ecuador defeated Chile 3-0 on August 15, 2012 in front of 31,901 fans.

Citi Field is now on friendly terms with the beautiful game.

The home of the New York Mets will become the home-away-from-home for the Ecuadorian and Greek National Teams on Tuesday evening as the two sides face off in an international friendly. This represents the first professional soccer match held in Flushing since Colombia and Czechoslovakia finished with a 0-0 draw at Shea Stadium in August 2003.

Ranked 64th in the world by FIFA, Ecuador is preparing for its their upcoming participation in the Copa America tournament later this summer. Monterrey defender and Ecuador team captain Walter Ayoví leads a largely domestic squad that also features Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia and Toronto FC forward Joao Plata.

Greece will look to follow up a successful effort in a 3-1 win over Malta last Saturday in a Euro 2012 qualifier. The Galanolefki benefitted from a youth movement against Malta, with Olympiacos midfielder Giannis Fetfatzidis -- who is commonly referred to as the Greek Lionel Messi -- and Schalke 04 defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos finishing strikes from an attack that favored the right wing.

First kick is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Rectancular Peg in a Diamond Hole. FIFA does not set one standard for pitch size in international competition, but the dimensions typically run at about 110 yards across and 70 yards wide.

In order to accommodate those dimensions in the peculiar layout of Citi Field, the groundskeepers commenced preparations on the pitch at 3 a.m. Monday with one goal placed near third base and the other in deep right field -- presumably in or near the divot carved out of the right field wall in front of the Mo's Zone seating area. To complete the playing area, two-thirds of the infield will be covered in sod.

That layout should lessen the disruption to the baseball diamond, which was a rule of thumb the Mets may have learned the hard way. The Mets dismantled the mound following the 1996 season in order to accommodate an offseason friendly between Colombia and Honduras. When they replaced the mound for the 1997 season, they rebuilt it too high in a gaffe that may have disrupted Mark Clark's performance in the Mets' home opener.

So if Jose Reyes' defense begins to suffer at home when the Mets return on June 17, take a long look at the new dirt under his feet.

Hosts with the Most (to Gain). While Shea Stadium's soccer roots stretch back to a nine-team club tournament in 1965 and once provided a pitch to Pelé and the New York Cosmos, Fred Wilpon picked up the pace in the 1990s as he opened negotiations to either renovate or replace Shea in earnest. Shea Stadium became a potential soccer site as part of the city's bid for the 2012 Olympics as well as a potential new or temporary home for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls).

MLS has made no secret of their discussions about a potential expansion side being awarded to the Wilpons. Meanwhile, Dave Howard, Mets Vice President of Business Operations, told the NY Daily News in May that he expects Citi Field to host another soccer match later this summer.

Ecuador and Greece will cater to a hungry fan base, but the Wilpons' larger designs for the future of soccer in Queens should kick off on Tuesday as well.

Are You Ready For Some Futbol? A Mets press release issued on Monday outlawed the use of fireworks, which are a common sight at Greek soccer matches. However, it said nothing of the drums, banners, noisemakers, streamers, and flags that both Greek and Ecuadorian supporters call up to support their national side.

Queens boasts a large Ecuadorian population and the largest Greek community this side of the Atlantic Ocean. They may attend the match in a venue designed for baseball, but the supporters should create a very different and energetic atmosphere.

Rule 21 is Greek to Them. Last weekend, the Greek FA indefinitely suspended all activities due to allegations of gambling and match-fixing. Greece has struggled with match-fixing bookies and ongoing fan violence that cripples the in-game action if not corrupting it outright. The referees may execute their duties on Tuesday under a bigger spotlight in light of Greece's latest troubles, as the stakes could be much higher than the empanadas and baklava being wagered by local politicians.