Mets' bats turn to mush, trail Royals 2-0 in World Series

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) David Wright lifted a foul popup, paused and turned back toward the dugout. He didn't bother to watch Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer make the catch.

Yet another easy out by the New York Mets.

This is definitely not how banged-up Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy and Wright imagined their first World Series.

No launches into the seats. No lasers to the gaps. No liners into the corners.

''Yeah, we're not hitting,'' manager Terry Collins said Wednesday night after a 7-1 loss to Kansas City dropped them into an 0-2 deficit. ''That's what I see.''

Maybe it was the five-day layoff after they swept the Cubs in the NL Championship Series. Or perhaps it's the Royals pitchers, with even soft-tossing Chris Young looking like Cy Young.

Somehow, somewhere after leaving Wrigley Field, the Mets' bats have turned to mush.

''We've stressed it enough. When we play good, our lineup produces throughout,'' Collins said. ''It just shows you right now with us not hitting how big Dan Murphy really was in the NLCS with the home runs.''

The Mets stayed stuck in their collective slump in Game 2 when Lucas Duda's two soft singles were their only hits off Johnny Cueto. The drought began when Game 1 went to extra innings - they were held to a bunt single after that point, losing 5-4 in the 14th.

Overall, they're batting .165 (13 for 79) with 19 strikeouts. Their lone extra-base hit is Curtis Granderson's home run.

''We've got to pick it up offensively,'' Collins said. ''We've got to do a better job of using the field to hit. And we've done it. We certainly have done it. We've got to do it again.''

All those big swings by Cespedes that fueled the Mets for so long have produced a mere single in 10 at-bats.

''He's not the only one. There's a couple other ones in there,'' Collins said.

Murphy had homered in a record six straight postseason games going into the opener at Kauffman Stadium. He's 2 for 9 with four strikeouts in the Series.

Wright is worse, at 2 for 11. His weak popup came after a leadoff walk to Granderson in the fourth inning of a scoreless game.

''We can't think about the hole that we're in. We just have to concentrate on one at a time,'' Wright said. ''It will be nice to get to our park, you know, our house.''

Game 3 is Friday night, the first World Series action at Citi Field.

Murphy was eager for Thursday, too.

''I think we're looking forward to this off-day, tomorrow. It will be a nice chance to spend with our family. I know I'm looking forward to it,'' he said.