When David Wright returned to the Mets in July after more than two months on the disabled list, he looked better at the plate than he did before the injury.
Wright was batting .226 when he was placed on the disabled list in the middle of May with a stress fracture in his back, and for a player who had entered the 2011 season with a .305 lifetime batting average, his average was glaringly subpar.
When he returned, he dug himself out of that rut with a scorching performance over the course of a 10-game road trip last month. He was 20 for 44 for a .454 average and had 2 home runs and 12 runs batted in.
But a return home seemed to cool his bat considerably. Over the next nine games at Citi Field at the start of this month, Wright was 8 for 35, with one home run and six R.B.I. At the start of a road trip on Friday, Wright and Manager Terry Collins had the opportunity to reflect on the drop-off in production.
“Well, I was assuming I wouldn’t hit .450 for the year,” said Wright, who was batting .271 with 9 homers and 36 R.B.I. going into Friday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Wright said he was not feeling different at the plate, mentally or physically, than he had in the middle of July. The statistical discrepancy, he said, was a combination of variable luck — balls that once dropped in for hits were being caught — and the law of averages taking hold.
He added, “You’re usually not as good as you are when things seem to be going really well, and you’re not really as bad as you are when things seem to be bad.”
Collins said he thought Wright was swinging the bat well, but acknowledged that he had noticed his slight decrease in production at the plate. The drop-off, he said, seemed to be the natural result of a player getting used to the rigors of a baseball schedule after a lengthy spell on the disabled list.
“We’ve got to be a little patient with him,” Collins said. “It could be that — I don’t believe fatigue’s a factor — but I do believe there are some things that go on when you’re back playing every day that you’ve got to make some adjustments. And he’ll make them.”
Though his minor slump coincided with a return home to Citi Field, Wright said it did not matter to him what park he played in. He did say, though, that he enjoyed playing in Arizona.
“It seems like the ball travels well here,” he said. “And there’s a nice batter’s eye, so you can see the ball well.”
ONE THAT GOT AWAY Just a few years ago, Ian Kennedy was part of three young arms the Yankees and their fans envisioned would be the core of their staff for years to come. But then Kennedy, perhaps the least heralded of that group, was traded to Arizona before the 2010 season in the three-team deal that sent Curtis Granderson from the Detroit Tigers to the Yankees, and went on to be largely forgotten in New York.
Fast forward to 2011.
Joba Chamberlain, one of the other two pitchers, is on the disabled list for the foreseeable future after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June. Phil Hughes, the other, spent three months this season on the disabled list after mysteriously losing velocity on his fastball. Up to now, neither has convinced the Yankees they can be reliable starters.
And then there is Kennedy, who entered his start Friday against the Mets with a 14-3 record and 3.20 earned run average.
“He’s got four or five different pitches he can mix in,” said Charles Nagy, the Diamondbacks’ pitching coach. “He figures out right away which ones are working, and he attacks hitters with them.”
Kennedy has thrived this year working off his fastball, which he can make sink or cut, while mixing in an effective change. His curveball has been inconsistent at times, Nagy said, but when it has worked well, Kennedy has dominated.
Entering Friday, Kennedy was 6-0 with a 2.63 E.R.A. since July 4.
“His confidence level is very high right now,” said Nagy, a first-year coach. “He’s very smart, a hard worker, a joy to coach. He’s come as advertised.”
PAGAN RETURNS Angel Pagan was back in the Mets’ lineup Friday after leaving in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game against the San Diego Padres with back spasms. Collins then held him out of the series finale Thursday as a precaution.
Pagan, a center fielder, received treatment during Thursday’s game and again before Friday’s game, and told Collins that he felt fine.
“Obviously we’re going to keep an eye on him,” Collins said. “A back issue can always flare up on you, especially after the long flight.”
