Fairy tales emerge from nights like these at the ballpark.
Jeremy Hefner, the eighth man to get a shot at starting a Mets game this year, picked up both his first big-league win and his first big-league homer last night, leading the Mets to a rebound, rain-delayed 6-3 victory over the Phillies at Citi Field.
Omar Quintanilla, known only to diehard Rockies fans, supported Hefner by pounding two doubles and a single and scoring two runs in his Mets debut as the team’s backup-backup-backup shortstop.
Scott Hairston, a solid major-league reserve, slammed a pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning, giving the Mets a pair of round-trippers from the No. 9 slot and, more notably, giving Hairston the team lead with six homers.
Gloriously random enough for you, Mets fans?
“That’s exactly what this team’s about,” manager Terry Collins said. “That’s exactly what this team’s been about the two years I’ve been here.”
Fairy tales usually don’t come true, of course, which is why, if you’re a Mets fan, you enjoy this but also want your team to be about more than resourcefulness and scrappiness in the wake of multiple injuries.
You want the storybook stuff to be accompanied by the textbook stuff. You love the overachievers like Hairston or successful leadoff man Mike Baxter, yet you yearn for the underachievers like Ike Davis, Andres Torres and Jon Niese to join the party and reach their ceilings — which could keep this party of a season going.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, praising Collins and his players for their ability to cope with the flood of injuries this season, said before yesterday’s game, “The new players that have come in have assimilated well. They’ve been embraced as potential contributors. And ultimately, they have made contributions. I think that’s been a big part of it.”
Alderson spoke confidently of his club, which is now 28-22, noting specifically the lineup’s skill in hitting with two outs. Nevertheless, he has enough statistical savvy to know that, with 214 runs scored and 234 allowed, the Mets don’t project well. A negative run differential typically leads to a losing record.
Those one-run games, in which the Mets are 9-5, turn the other way. Those two-out hits fall an inch foul, or the screaming line drives go right to a well-positioned fielder.
Sometimes clubs can overcome this indicator; the 2007 Diamondbacks went 90-72 despite being outscored, 732-712. A good bullpen makes this more likely, which is why the improved performances of newcomers Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco, each of whom pitched a scoreless inning last night, should encourage fans.
That’s not a great plan, though. The better idea is to, simply, play better. Give those relievers more room for error.
“This was an overall team effort,” Quintanilla said after the game, a pleasant thought overshadowed by the reality that the taxi squad outperformed the regulars.
The National League East is a wacky division. The Phillies, five-time defending champions, endured a rough day, placing future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay on the 15-disabled list with a strain of his right latissimus dorsi. They take pride in shrugging off injuries, and manager Charlie Manuel noted his teams always post a better record in the second half. In nine full seasons, only the 2001 Indians defied that trend. Nevertheless, the Phillies will be particularly challenged with Halladay, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley all on the disabled list.
The Mets probably have the least talent among the five NL East teams, and that’s why most industry folks don’t see them sustaining this run. The Nationals and Braves join the Phillies in being riddled by injuries, though, and remember, the extra wild card opens up this pennant race like none before.
Fairy-tale nights occur for every team, good and bad. Fairy-tale seasons are far more rare. These Mets don’t require any miracles. They could just use some more help from the people expected to help them, so that their enjoyable season stays that way.
kdavidoff@nypost.com