PHILADELPHIA — David Wright’s swing looked just fine, even with the broken finger on his right hand.
Wright homered on the first pitch he saw after missing three games, Jonathon Niese and two relievers combined on a six-hitter, and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 on Saturday.
Wright was 3 for 5, including a long homer on the first pitch he saw after missing three games with a broken pinkie. Lucas Duda also connected for the Mets, who are off to a surprising 6-2 start.
“I felt good,” Wright said. “I got a little confidence after the first at-bat. I felt real good in the cage earlier today. I wouldn’t have gone out there if I didn’t think I can contribute.”
Niese (2-0) allowed five hits and struck out five in 6 2-3 innings. Bobby Parnell got four outs and Jon Rauch pitched the ninth.
“I thought the ball was coming out of my hand well,” Niese said. “In this ballpark, you have to focus on keeping the ball down. The all-around feel of my mechanics was good.”
The five-time defending NL East champion Phillies are 3-5 and struggling offensively without All-Stars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the middle of their lineup. They’ve scored two runs or less in five of their eight games.
“We’re eight games in, it doesn’t faze me at all,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “I hate to use the word ‘early’ because I come to the ballpark every day and I want to win, but there’s no sense in panicking. We’re going to score runs, we’re going to compete, we’re going to hold the fort until our guys get back.”
Phillies starter Vance Worley (0-1) allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings.
Wright hurt his finger diving back to a base Monday night. He finally felt well enough to return on Saturday, and made an impact right away.
“When a guy like David Wright goes out and plays with a broken finger, the other guys don’t hurt as bad,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “His presence in our lineup means a lot.”
Worley retired the first two batters before Wright drove one out to almost straightaway center to give the Mets the lead in the first.
“It was supposed to be a fastball away and it ran right back over the plate,” Worley said.
The Mets tacked on three runs in the fourth. They loaded the bases with no outs on a walk and singles by Wright and Ike Davis, who was 1 for 24 to that point. One run scored when Jason Bay grounded into a double play. Duda then ripped a two-run shot to right, snapping an 0-for-15 slump with his third homer.
Mets center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis robbed Brian Schneider of extra bases and an RBI with a sensational running catch on a drive to the warning track to end the second inning.
The crowd of 45,750 was the 225th straight sellout at Citizens Bank Park, including postseason play. There were blue-shirted Mets fans mixed in, of course. The loudest cheers from home fans came when a New York fan was ejected from the ballpark in the ninth.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
