Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud moved into the No. 2 spot in the batting order Wednesday against the Phillies after the team placed David Wright, who hit second in the first eight games on the disabled list. At least for one night, d'Arnaud proved he can handle the responsibility of hitting near the top of the batting order.
d'Arnaud hit his first home run of the season, and went 2 for 4 with two runs and one walk in a 6-1 win.
"I thought Travis did a great job," manager Terry Collins said, per NJ.com. "Everybody's wondering who you hit in David's spot and Travis went in there and did a great job."
Collins also praised d'Arnaud for the turnaround he's experienced since returning from a demotion to the minors last summer.
"I think one thing that helped Travis in the second half, and I'm going to give him all the credit, he figured out what he has to do to have success here," Collins said. "One of the things is to be aggressive early. We've seen what he can do when he hits. You've got to coincide that with making sure your pitch selection is pretty good, but after the second half last year I think he has confidence in his own ability."