NEW YORK - David Wright might have looked as though he was trying to savor the moment Friday night in the bottom of the fourth. He acknowledged the fans standing behind the backstop as he approached the on-deck circle. They wanted a show.

They almost got one.

Wright, momentarily bent over while Kevin Plawecki faced Miami Marlins starter Jose Urena (9-12) at the plate, trying to keep himself from throwing up.

“This was the first time on a baseball field I thought I was going to throw up,” Wright said. “That first time in the on-deck circle I bent down for a minute and I was like, ‘It might come up.’ My heart was beating through my chest and I was like, ‘I can’t do this right now. I can’t.’ Plaw made the out and I took a deep breath and took a few more swings. I was just trying to keep busy.”

Friday's 8-1 loss was overshadowed by the main event: a pinch-hit at-bat in the fifth inning by Wright. Leading off the inning against Urena, Wright swung at the first pitch and grounded out to third. In his first at-bat since 2016, Wright wasn't trying to do any damage.

And when he plays Saturday, the damage might be minimal. But he's at peace with that.

“Might be two pitches tomorrow, too,” Wright said. “I’m just trying to get up there and whack at it.”

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It has been long known that Wright would return for the Sept. 29 game, but in order to give him a chance to see pitches and feel the adrenaline of getting in the batter's box, the Mets decided to use him as a pinch-hitter Friday. They didn't want him sitting in the dugout waiting all night so they made a decision to use Wright off the bench for the pitcher.

Corey Oswalt exited after the fourth inning with the game tied 1-1. Dominic Smith prolonged the bottom of the inning with a single, just enough to get Wright on deck. With fans on their feet, he emerged from the dugout for the first time since 2016 while Plawecki faced Urena.

But Plawecki grounded out to end the inning and the booing fans had to wait for another half-inning to get a glimpse of a Mets legend for one of the final times.

Finally, the time came.

"Everything felt so new," he said. "And I've played in a lot of opening days and I've played in some playoff games and some World Series games and I've never felt the type of nervousness that I felt tonight."

The one at-bat was a culmination of more than two years of hard work, excruciating pain and arduous rehab. It's not quite the end for the seven-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, two-time Silver Slugger and one of the most prolific hitters in Mets history.

That will come Saturday, when he'll take his last two at-bats and head onto the field for a standing ovation from one of the most loyal fan bases in sports.