PHILADELPHIA — For an encore, maybe David Wright will break all of his toes and run barefoot in tomorrow’s Boston Marathon.
The great broken pinkie mystery finally is solved. Not only can Wright play, he can still help carry the Mets.
Only hours after convincing manager Terry Collins he didn’t need a disabled list stint for his broken right pinkie, Wright yesterday slammed the first pitch he saw from Phillies starter Vance Worley over the center-field fence at Citizens Bank Park.
All was swell in the Mets’ universe after a 5-0 victory that included a 3-for-5 performance from Wright, with that solo homer and two singles.
Jon Niese, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his start last Sunday, limited the Phillies to five hits over 6 2/3 shutout innings as the Mets won their second straight.
But Niese’s brilliance was overshadowed by Wright, who had missed the Mets’ previous three games after breaking his right pinkie diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt Monday.
Wright’s homer against Worley in the first inning was a no-doubter.
“I’m glad that I was able to go out there that first at-bat and get some confidence,” Wright said. “It’s good for the confidence and it’s good for the psyche when you go out there and do well your first at-bat back. It kind of [removes] the doubt from your mind that you can go out there and feel pretty good.”
On Friday, Wright said he still couldn’t grip a bat, but that was before he cheated on doctor’s orders and took swings off a tee in an indoor cage behind the visitor’s dugout as the Mets were playing the Phillies. Satisfied, Wright arrived at the ballpark yesterday fairly certain he would return to the lineup and avoid the DL.
“I wouldn’t go out there and play if it was a coin flip,” Wright said. “I feel pretty good and close enough where I think I can go out there and help the team more than hurt it.
“It’s going to heal on its own. It might take a little extra work to do it while playing at the same time, but I’m confident that it will heal quickly.”
Collins admitted he was skeptical on Friday that Wright would avoid a DL stint. But the manager was nearly turning cartwheels yesterday to learn he would have Wright in the lineup.
“When a guy like David Wright goes out and plays with a broken finger and everybody knows he’s got it, and plays the way he plays, all of a sudden the other guys don’t hurt as bad,” Collins said. “When they have something minor they say, ‘[Wright] can do it, so can I.’ That sends a big message to everybody on the club.”
After Wright’s solo homer in the first, the Mets seized control of the game with three runs in the fourth against Worley. Lucas Duda snapped an 0-for-15 skid with a two-run homer, giving the Mets a 4-0 lead. Ruben Tejada’s RBI single in the ninth scored the final run.
Jason Bay hit into a double play with the bases loaded for the other run in the fourth. Murphy walked leading off the inning and Wright and Ike Davis singled in succession to load the bases.
“[Wright’s] presence in our lineup means a lot,” Collins said. “I knew that last year and I know it now. He gets big hits, and when he’s swinging good he’s dangerous.”