David Wright returns to Mets' lineup after four-month absence
— -- PHILADELPHIA -- Months after experiencing discomfort while simply standing upright, New York Mets third baseman David Wright returned to the lineup Monday -- and hit a home run in his first at-bat.
Manager Terry Collins had placed Wright in the cleanup spot against the Philadelphia Phillies in the captain's first major league game since April 14. Wright drove a 1-1 pitch from rookie left-hander Adam Morgan into the second deck in left field to lead off the second inning.
Wright, 32, had been dealing with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal cavity, which placed pressure on nerves in his lower back.
"I'm excited," Wright said before the game. "For me, it almost feels like Opening Day, where you have some butterflies, kind of nervous excitement."
Wright attempted to break some of that tension Sunday night after the Mets flew in from Denver. He jokingly greeting his teammates in the hotel lobby in full uniform and holding a tray of cookies.
The Mets demoted left-handed reliever Dario Alvarez and placed left-handed reliever Jack Leathersich on the 60-day disabled list to clear room for Wright.
Wright hit .321 (9-for-28) with one RBI, five walks and six strikeouts during an eight-game rehab assignment with Class A St. Lucie. As the minor league stint progressed, he stopped wondering whether his back would be affected by certain movements.
"I've slid a couple of times. I've dove for some balls. And I feel like it's more reactionary than thinking about it," Wright said. "As a baseball player, that's what you want to do. You want that muscle memory to take over, and you want to just react, as opposed to thinking about, 'What if this? What if that? Is this going to bother me? Is this going to hurt?' You just want to be able to go out there and react. I think these last handful of rehab games I've gone out there and been able to think about the situation and think about the game rather than think about health and how my back is doing."
Collins said he placed Wright in the cleanup spot because of Wright's career success against left-handed pitching and because he did not want to disrupt what has been a successful top of the order, with Daniel Murphy batting second and Yoenis Cespedes batting third. Wright typically has hit in the No. 3 hole in his career.
Wright got a standing ovation from Mets fans at Citizens Bank Park when he ran onto the field, a louder ovation when he came to the plate and more cheers when he connected.
"Mentally, I feel a whole lot better now than I did three or four months ago -- that's for sure," Wright said. "There were some times where I was very frustrated. There were some times where I was angry and upset at what was transpiring. But you've got two options: You either hang your head and feel sorry about yourself and don't get your work in, or you go out there and do everything the doctors ask, the therapists ask, and you try to accomplish those goals for that day. That's the way I treated it."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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