It was a last opportunity for David Wright. The tying run on second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
With Ike Davis on second base and a run in against Mariano Rivera, Wright grounded out to Robinson Cano to strand Davis, end the game and miss a shot to be the Mets’ hero. The Mets’ struggling star had two late-game chances in his team’s 2-1 Subway Series loss at Citi Field, and he couldn’t come through either time, part of his 0-for-4, two-strikeout evening.
In the seventh, Wright came up with men on first and second, one out and the Mets down 2-0. He struck out looking against Joba Chamberlain, and the Mets didn’t score. Wright, who struck out twice last night, watched his staggering strikeout total go to 57 in 43 games this season, which means he’s on pace for 215. This month he’s whiffed 31 times in 19 games.
“I felt good at the plate,” Wright said. “I like being up in those situations.”
Wright didn’t fare any better against Javier Vazquez. In his first at-bat, he grounded out to start the second inning, and in his next time up he struck out against Vazquez to open the fifth. The bases were empty each time.In the seventh against Chamberlain, Wright had a long at-bat, working a full count before Chamberlain caught him looking. Wright talked to home plate umpire Jim Wolf afterward, indicating he didn’t think the final pitch was a strike.
Wright praised the Yankees reliever.
“Made a great pitch,” Wright said of Chamberlain. “A pitch that you really can’t hit.”
Chamberlain agreed.
“It was a perfect pitch for me,” the Yankees reliever said.
Wright then had an even bigger at-bat in the ninth inning against Rivera. This time, he was aggressive, swinging at the closer’s first pitch, but grounding out to Cano to end the game.
“He’s a guy that you don’t want to try to work the count against because he’s got great stuff,” said Wright, who had four RBIs in Thursday’s win over the Nationals. “You want to hit the first good one you see.”
— Additional reporting by George A. King III