Jerry Manuel has confirmed that left-hander Pat Misch will make Saturday's start against the Philadelphia Phillies opposite Roy Halladay. Because Francisco Rodriguez also will be activated from the restricted list for Saturday's return, the Mets will need to clear two bullpen spots.

It's probably worth noting that Elmer Dessens has not been used since Aug. 1, the same day Oliver Perez last appeared, too.

Misch went 11-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 23 starts for Triple-A Buffalo. In his most recent outing, Tuesday against the Phillies' Triple-A Lehigh Valley affiliate, he tossed five scoreless innings while throwing 55 pitches.

Regarding why Misch had not received a shot earlier in the season, Manuel said: "A lot of times if you're, say, left-handed, and the left-handed hitters have a higher average against you than the right-handed hitters, and you're not a guy that let's say lights up the gun, those types of things, you have to really be lights out with all the other parts of the game. You're one of those guys who has to continue to prove that time-in and time-out. I think that's what he's done. He's proven he can get it done."