The New York Mets were thrown a curveball when they learned that David Wright has a stress fracture in his lower back, which will cost the third baseman at least 10 days of action.

But as left fielder Jason Bay said, “Now’s the time when you find out what guys are really made of.”

Bay, himself, being one of them.

In his last eight games, the 32-year-old has just three hits in his last 27 at-bats (.111), and is hitting a dismal .216 this season with just two home runs and a career-worst .656 OPS in 20 games.

“Regardless of if they’re hurt or not, I think it’s important for me to get back on track,” said of Bay, who was referring to Wright and first baseman Ike Davis, currently on the disabled list with a sprained left ankle. “I’m not really making any more of it now then when those guys were in the lineup. I’m still trying to get back on track. I think that it definitely helps, but I don’t think having just one guy trying to replace those two guys is gonna do it. But it doesn’t make things easier.”

Bay, who battled through a rib cage injury which caused him to miss the first 20 games of the season, said he’s been getting more comfortable at the plate in his last “three or four games.”

“I’ve felt a bit better,” said Bay, who has scored four runs and had three hits in his last four games. “I’m just been trying to simplify things and trying to get back into it. But obviously facing [Florida Marlins ace] Josh Johnson [on Monday night], it’s kind of every man for himself out there, but it’s just one of those things where at some point you gotta start hitting.”

Bay called the shocking news that Wright was going to be out for a prolonged period of time “tough.”

"We were coming off a good roadtrip and expecting to have a good homestand, and to hear that news with how sudden it was, it was definitely tough,” Bay said. “But like I said before, it’s the nature of what we do.

“It’s not the first time we’ve lost a key piece of our team, and while not ideal, you just gotta step up and move ahead.”