David Wright broke out of a 2-for-14 slump by going 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in Friday’s 9-3 win over the Royals in Game 3 of the World Series at Citi Field.
“This is what you dream about as a kid,” Wright said about his home run. “Running around the bases, it’s like floating. You can’t describe the excitement of hitting the home run, and crossing home plate, high-fiving your teammates and looking up into the stands and just seeing people going absolutely nuts. It’s one of those memories that is going to stay with me for the rest of my life” (Oct. 31).
Manager Terry Collins was asked earlier this week if he was planning on dropping Wright in the batting order or perhaps benching him after he had hit .192 through the Mets’ first 11 playoff games.
“I had that suggested to me,” Collins said with a laugh.
Instead, the Mets captain hit a two-run home run in the first inning to give the Mets a 2-1 lead and added a two-run single with the bases loaded in a four-run sixth inning that extended the Mets’ lead to 9-3.
“I’ve only got 13 guys and eight of them got to play,” Collins said. “So you kind of stick with them and we got some big hits tonight from some of the guys that haven’t been swinging very well. … Big hit for him, big hit for us. Got him going.”
In the field, Wright came up with two clutch plays. He held Salvador Perez to a single by chasing after a ball hit in no man’s land, and tagged Alex Gordon out at third base on a reviewed play for the first out of the second inning.
On the play in the second inning, Alex Rios hit an RBI single to left field and Gordon tried to go first to third. Michael Conforto’s throw to Wright was on time and Wright applied the tag to Gordon’s helmet just before his fingers slid into the bag. Third base umpire Gary Cederstrom initially called Gordon safe, but Collins challenged and the play was reversed.
Matthew Cerrone
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The lady sitting next to me was crying when Wright rounded the bases. Seriously, there was that much emotion going on in the stands when Wright hit that home run. I didn’t see where the ball landed until I got home and watched the replay, because, in the stands, I only caught the initial swing. After that, all I saw were people jumping, bouncing, hugging, high-fiving and, essentially, losing their minds. It was such an awesome moment, not just for the Mets, but also for David, who entered his first-ever home World Series game in a bit of a slump. Then, this… and I loved the little no-doubt-about-it walk toward first base after he connected, which is something we don’t see from Wright.
More importantly, his swing looked so level and smooth, as opposed to aggressive with an uppercut like he had the previous week or so. He was at the ballpark roughly 10 hours before first pitch, watching video and working with Kevin Long on swing mechanics, so clearly it worked. Stay hot, David…
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