MLB

Wright misses Marlins after lack of hustle

MIAMI — David Wright never needed a day off more than the one Jerry Manuel gave him here yesterday.

The Mets’ All-Star third baseman was conspicuously absent from the 4-0 win over the Marlins, less than 24 hours after Wright’s shockingly uncharacteristic lack of hustle prompted a personal apology to his teammates and a postgame Manuel tongue-lashing.

Wright had loafed into home with two out in the fifth inning Saturday night, and his nonchalance proved costly because he failed to reach the plate before Jeff Francoeur was thrown out at second in an eventual 9-6 Mets loss.

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Manuel has seen more than his share of mental gaffes this season, but he considered this one “unacceptable [and] unallowable” for a player of Wright’s stature in the clubhouse.

“Some of these mistakes by the younger players you can handle,” Manuel said yesterday. “But what you hope for is that the Wrights, the [Carlos] Beltrans, those guys, now can police the rest of the group where you don’t have to be as a manager concerned with that.”

It was just another embarrassing moment in what continues to be a thoroughly miserable September for Wright, who looks as if the final week of this lost season can’t speed by fast enough.

It was telling yesterday when Wright, who usually balks at any time out of the lineup, welcomed a day on the bench after going 1-for-10 with six strikeouts in the first two games in this series.

Wright has struck out a whopping 32 times in 24 games since coming back Sept. 1 from a concussion, and he showed some of that frustration Friday and Saturday by complaining to the home-plate umpire about a too-big strike zone.

“I’m obviously not swinging the bat the way I want to, so I appreciate him looking out for me and trying to get things right,” Wright said. “I want to finish the season as strongly as possible, and Jerry and [hitting coach Howard Johnson] see some things at the plate that I need to correct.”

Wright will need quite a strong showing in the season’s final six games to make anyone forget about the past four weeks.

He has been simply awful at the plate, hitting .220 (20-for-91) with two homers and 14 RBIs to go along with the 32 strikeouts.

Wright is reluctant to talk about the hitting woes, but Manuel said, “There are some mechanical issues that we’re trying to address with him.”

Manuel certainly never expected to have to address mental mistakes with Wright like the one Saturday night that would have grabbed big headlines in New York if not for the Mets’ pitiful record.

Manuel put some of the blame on third-base coach Razor Shines for telling Wright he could slow down going into home, but Manuel refused to totally excuse Wright’s lapse.

Manuel called Wright into his office at Land Shark Stadium immediately after the game for a lecture.

“That’s just a mental mistake,” Wright said of the baserunning blunder. “That’s my fault, and I take responsibility. It won’t happen again.”

Wright hopes this kind of dreadful September won’t happen again, either.

“Hopefully, the day off will give me a chance to clear my head and finish strong,” he said.

bhubbuch@nypost.com