Wright hits two RBI doubles in return

MIAMI -- David Wright spent the past two months recovering from a stress fracture in his lower back, but in Friday night's return, he proved himself capable of carrying the Mets again.

Wright delivered a pair of RBI doubles, the second of which snapped a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning and helped lead the Mets to a 7-6 victory over the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium. There are some things, however, that Wright couldn't do in his first game back since landing on the disabled list May 18.

First and foremost: The Claw.

The move was adopted as a bonding ritual in his absence, and Wright felt ridiculous attempting one after his double in the first. As he hooked an arm above his head, he couldn't stop from laughing. "It's not for me," Wright said. "They gave me a few different ones to try for the low-key guys, like Jason Bay."

In the eighth inning, Wright skipped it completely. After slicing a run-scoring double to rightfield, Wright hustled to third on the throw to the plate, then clapped his hands together before high-fiving third-base coach Chip Hale. No claw.

"It just feels good to compete," said Wright, who missed 59 games in the longest DL stint of his career. "Competing at this level is an adrenaline rush. And to do well at this level, you get excited about it."

The night wasn't perfect. Wright, batting cleanup, struck out twice to strand three runners before coming up big in the eighth. After he drove in the go-ahead run and scored on Daniel Murphy's double for a 7-5 lead, he committed a throwing error in the bottom half to help give a run back, although it appeared as if Murphy got his foot back on the bag after being pulled off.

Overall, those had to be considered minor glitches as the Mets welcomed back the face of the franchise and won for the third time in four games.

"I think it's great for David," Terry Collins said. "He's a huge part of the team and a key part of the organization. For him to come in and contribute right out of the gate is a huge lift."

Wright made the Mets almost whole again, with Jose Reyes in the leadoff spot and Carlos Beltran hitting third, but it might last only another week. Beltran is certain to be dealt by the July 31 non-waivers trade deadline, and he increased his value Friday by reaching base safely for the 28th consecutive game with a walk and an RBI single.

The return of Wright probably comes a little too late to save the Mets' fading playoff hopes. They remained 8½ games behind the Braves in the wild-card race. But he still was a welcome sight for Collins, who didn't hesitate to put him in the cleanup spot for his first big-league game since May 15.

Wright batted .476 (10-for-21) with three doubles, two RBIs and nine runs scored in his six-game rehab stint for Class A St. Lucie. More importantly, he said he tested his recovering back with enough diving plays and sliding attempts. Wright first injured himself April 19 as he tried to make a diving tag.

"After the first couple rehab games," he said, "I knew that it wasn't going to be an issue as far as being in my mind."

When Wright went on the DL, he was batting .226 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in 39 games, a sluggish start that had to be at least partially attributed to the freakish injury. Friday was his first chance to show that the previously banged-up version of Wright is not his true self.

"I just feel normal," Wright said. "I feel like I can just go out there and play. It's a hard enough game when you're healthy, but it's nice to just go out there and react and not have to think about anything or worry about anything."