One Loss Isn’t Enough for Mets

It didn't take long for it to stop feeling fun around the Mets Tuesday night at Citi Field.

The night got off to a bad start when David Wright was a late scratch from the game with a fractured pinkie he suffered when he dove back into first base on a pickoff attempt during Monday night's game.

On a night when Ike Davis was already on the bench to avoid overexerting the lung infection he contracted during the offseason, that meant the Mets offense was seriously underpowered.

We didn't actually know that it was a fractured pinkie before the game, though. The word was that the finger was bruised and that Wright merely needed a night off.

The news of the severity of the injury came about halfway through the game, just as Dillon Gee was starting to falter on the mound in the top of the sixth inning. He gave up a run, handed the ball over to Bobby Parnell and then watched as Daniel Murphy butchered a double play ball to open up the floodgates and confirm the Mets were on their way to their first loss of the season.

Washington's lead went from 1-0 to 5-0 in that inning and it was as if the Mets all at once reverted to the team of past years. A couple of late runs made the 6-2 final look more respectable, but nothing could really save the night from being a total disappointment.

Wright will be put in a splint and won't play in Wednesday's final game against Washington. The team doesn't know when he'll be able to get back on the field -- his ability to tolerate baseball activities is the threshold and Wright said it hurts to grip a bat right now -- and a trip to the disabled list isn't out of the question for the third baseman.

That would hurt, obviously, but the pain doesn't just come from the fact that the Mets won't have Wright at the hot corner. It comes from the fact that the team has now gotten the splash of cold water in the face that everyone knew was coming even while they were loving every minute of the four wins to start the season.