PHILADELPHIA -- Had no one ever mentioned to David Wright that he hits better at Citizens Bank Park than just about anywhere else -- better, by and large, than any visiting slugger in the ballpark's history -- he swears he wouldn't know. Nor can Wright explain how he is so productive here.
Yet it is clear that something is different in Philadelphia. A pair of opposite-field home runs in Monday's 5-2 Mets win over the Phillies increased Wright's lifetime total at Citizens Bank Park to 22, eight more than any other visiting player. They were the third baseman's first and second homers this season, and his first and second RBIs. And the homers provided the latest bits of evidence that Wright, in his first full season back from a spinal stenosis diagnosis, is hardly done producing.
"Star players should never surprise you with what they can do," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "They do things that capture your attention. And he's dangerous here."

The first home run in particular was vintage Wright. Defending against a fastball in a 2-2 count, Wright launched his bat toward one on the strike zone's outer half. Rather than attempt to pull the Jerad Eickhoff pitch, Wright drove the ball a projected 402 feet over the right-center-field fence, per Statcast™, giving the Mets their first lead.
Wright's second homer was neither as deep nor as impactful, with the game already mostly in hand. But along with a fine defensive play in the fourth inning, ranging to his left on a slow ground ball, it offered evidence of what the 33-year-old Wright remains able to achieve -- even if he's the last person who needs convincing on that front.
"I don't need any reassurance," said Wright, who is batting .289 with a .426 on-base percentage and .526 slugging mark. "I just need to go out there and do what I'm capable of doing."
At Citizens Bank Park, that seems to be more than most anyplace else. Wright's 22 homers at the stadium are eight more than the next-most-productive visiting slugger, Carlos Beltran. His 69 RBIs are 20 more than Brian McCann has mustered here.

If anything, Wright chalks that up both to Citizens Bank Park's reputation as a hitter's ballpark, and his familiarity with it after playing nine or 10 times here per year. But Wright mostly just shrugs when asked about his successes in Philadelphia over the years.
"He's just a good player," Collins said. "And here, he knows he just has to put good swings on the ball, and he can be dangerous."