He was a last resort, only called upon after David Wright’s injury, two underwhelming stints by Eric Campbell, and another injury, this one to Dilson Herrera.
But Ruben Tejada didn’t care how long it took. He was thrilled Terry Collins gave him an opportunity to fill the Mets’ third-base void.
“It’s good when they come to you,” Tejada said after making his third consecutive start at third. “To get a big opportunity to play, it’s really good.”
He’s making the most of that chance thus far. The oft-criticized infielder was a major reason the Mets avoided a sweep at the hands of the Marlins on Sunday, driving in the game-winning run with a double in the 4-3 victory at Citi Field.
That was just a microcosm of his big weekend. Tejada played a solid third base and went 5-for-12 at the plate, including a three-run double in Saturday’s 9-5 loss. Of his eight RBIs this year, seven have come against the struggling Marlins.
He was so impressive, Collins said Tejada is the guy at third base until Wright returns from his back injury, whenever that is.
“He’s earned it, and as we all know, he can do a lot of things when he’s playing well, and right now he’s playing well,” Collins said. “I’m really pleased. To have [Tejada] step up and come through in a big way this series, even though we only won one game, is real promising because we need somebody to step in and give us some offense.”
Collins has been a longtime supporter of Tejada, even as he disappointed others in the organization the last two years. Collins, in fact, blamed himself for not being able to motivate the young player. He’s hoping a lengthy stay on the bench and losing his shortstop position to Wilmer Flores may do the trick.
“The guy you’ve seen the last three days is the guy that’s been in this uniform for four years,” Collins said.
Tejada only had one hit Sunday, but his timing was perfect. After Juan Lagares singled and stole second in the seventh inning, the Marlins intentionally walked Curtis Granderson. Tejada waited on a Steve Cishek slider and hammered it to the wall in left, giving the Mets the lead for good.
“It was nothing. It made me happy. It was a big chance to help the team,” Tejada said of the intentional walk to Granderson. “I tried to stay in the middle and stay focused and tried to bring the run in.”
It’s only three games, of course. A tiny sample size. Wright eventually will return, at least the Mets hope he does, and Flores is the shortstop. But for now, Tejada is happy that his name will be written in the lineup every day.
“He put me in three games in a row there,” Tejada said of Collins. “I told him I got it and I’ll do my best and try to help the team to win some games.”
