BALTIMORE — Before last night’s game, as Chris Carter paced around the clubhouse, looking for ways to spend some excess energy, David Wright gave him some advice.
Wright said Camden Yards would be a good place for Carter — in the starting lineup as the designated hitter — to hit his first major league homer.
“Right-center,” Wright told Carter before the Mets’ 5-1 win.
Carter was listening, as he belted Jeremy Guthrie’s 1-1 pitch into the seats in, you guessed it, right-center in the fourth inning. The three-run shot gave the Mets a 4-0 lead.
When told he was like Babe Ruth, calling the shot, Wright replied: “Yeah, for another guy.”
He also joked that he tells Carter the same thing before every game.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Carter, 27, who was called up by the Mets last month, when he replaced Frank Catalanotto and since has provided a spark off the bench. He spent parts of six seasons in the minors. Last night, Carter finished 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch.
The always-intense Carter said his strategy as DH would be to stay active between innings: “I always want to keep the heart going, the blood flowing and never turn it off.”
Carter wasn’t able to get the ball back, which was about the only thing that went wrong last night.
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Hisanori Takahashi isn’t ticketed for the Mets’ bullpen just yet. Though manager Jerry Manuel yesterday admitted there is a distinct possibility the lefty will return to the bullpen once John Maine is ready for activation, he would like Takahashi to make the decision hard for him. Takahashi, who has struggled in his last two outings, will get the ball tonight, with Maine slated to throw 65 pitches tomorrow for Double-A Binghamton. All indications are Maine, who is recovering from shoulder weakness, will need at least two rehab starts before the Mets have to make a decision on where to slot him.
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Fernando Tatis is scheduled to start tonight, either as the DH or third baseman, against lefty Brian Matusz. Manuel said he will ask Wright if he wants to DH, which would allow Tatis to play third base.