As expected, ill Wright on Mets' bench

TORONTO -- David Wright's voice was hoarse and gravelly Friday afternoon, and his condition only worsened overnight. Battling what the Mets are calling a bad head cold, Wright took his previously scheduled off-day Saturday, and the third baseman is in danger of missing Sunday's game as well.

"I'd stay an arm's-length distance," manager Terry Collins said Saturday morning. "He's sicker today than he was yesterday, and he wasn't very good yesterday."

Wright still managed to double in his first at-bat Friday and drive a ball to the warning track in his second plate appearance, finishing 1-for-3 to decrease his league-leading batting average to .409. Collins said he would consider using Wright as a pinch-hitter Saturday, but was hardly convinced that he would be able to play again this weekend.

With Wright on the bench, Justin Turner started at third base for the Mets. Wright leads the Majors with a .409 average and .510 on-base percentage, and also ranks third in the National League with 27 walks and fifth on the circuit with a .622 slugging percentage. He has reached base safely in 34 of his 36 games, playing most of them with a fractured right pinkie finger.

Wright joins a growing list of Mets players to suffer through illness this month, a group that includes outfielder Lucas Duda, catcher Mike Nickeas, first baseman Ike Davis and pitchers Jon Niese and Chris Schwinden.