Ruben Tejada's Walk Pays Off In the wake of their walk-off win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night, the Mets were excited about their ninth-inning hits, but just as pleased with their patient walks. Before Daniel Murphy's game-tying single and David Wright's game-winning hit to right, there was Ruben Tejada engineering an eight-pitch walk, setting the stage for the victory. The outcome was nothing new for Tejada. Through Thursday night's game, he had a .337 on-base percentage in two-strike situations. In all of baseball, Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays was the only player with a higher mark (.340). "The last two years, I've worked on, with two strikes, trying to hit the ball, protecting the strike zone, looking for a good pitch to hit," Tejada said on Friday afternoon. That's the key. The philosophy has in a way symbolized the Mets" approach the last two years, emphasizing getting on base and keeping the line moving. As David Wright said after Thursday's game, the Mets are not a team of power hitters and base stealers. They are grinders. "You've got to foul off pitches that are borderline, you've got to at least get the bat on it, and you've got to really have knowledge of the strike zone," Manager Terry Collins said. But to teach it and to have it get through are two different things, and to him, he's bought into it, and he's done it. The recent return of Tejada, who missed several weeks earlier this year with a strained quadriceps, has been a major boost for the Mets, who have lacked solid right-handed hitting for much of the season. He was batting .383 in his first 11 games since being reinstated from the disabled list. Overall, he is hitting. .329 with 24 runs scored. The shortstops who filled in during his absence compiled a .248 average in 43 games. Collins said he hoped Tejada, 22, could be a walking example of what a patient, two-strike approach looked like. Collins, who first worked with Tejada three years ago when he was the organization's minor league field coordinator, said, "It's something that he certainly has a feel for, and it goes to show the other guys, if you do fight, if you do get up there and grind out an at-bat and have some plate discipline, you can get on base." Thole OK After Collision There was a bit of anxious moment Thursday night involving catcher Josh Thole, who missed about three weeks in May after sustaining a concussion. In the top of the eighth, Mike Fontenot tried to score from second on Chase Utley's single to left field. Scott Hairston sent a perfect throw home and Fontenot barreled into Thole's body, sending his mask flying off his face. Thole held the ball, and Fontenot was called out. Manager Terry Collins said Friday that he was nervous watching the play. Thole said he had no chance to be nervous. "There's nothing you can do about it," Thole said Friday. You've got to get the guy out. That's what my concern is. You don't think about the play. It just naturally happens. Thole sustained a concussion on May 7 on a similar play, and he said he had a couple in his career before that. But Thole said that he felt no impact on his head Thursday night and that his mask became dislodged as he was falling to the ground. Collins said that Thole, in the wake of his last concussion, had been making an effort to keep his mask on as much as possible. "He's got a little bit more protection than he would normally," Collins said. Those masks aren't easy to discard. I think that will help Josh a lot. Bay Almost Ready for Minor League Start Jason Bay, who sustained a concussion on June 16, could play in a minor league rehabilitation game in as soon as this Sunday, Collins said. Bay will continue to take batting practice, run, and do fielding drills over the weekend in Port St. Lucie. Collins suggested Bay could be back with the Mets after a week or so of rehabilitation games. He said Bay would be inserted back into the lineup upon his return. Still, the plans seemed tenuous. Collins used the word "hopefully" five times in his 43 second response. "When he comes back, we will insert him in the lineup," Collins said, "and hopefully he'll be ready to get himself back on track."