No start for Ike, but ankle’s OK
The day after rolling his left ankle — yes, the same ankle t hat wrecked his 2011 season — Ike Davis was not in the Met lineup. But it wasn’t because he was unable to play.
“It’s a little sore, but it’s fine,” Davis said. “It’s not the reason I’m not playing.”
Terry Collins wanted Justin Turner to play first base against Arizona lefthander Patrick Corbin, rather than the struggling Davis, who is batting .172. Davis entered the game as a defensive replacement at first in the ninth inning. “I just needed to get Justin Turner in there,” Collins said. “This guy (Corbin) can be tough on lefties. We need to get the offense going a little bit. Right now, Dan (Murphy) is swinging good, David (Wright) is swinging good, and those are the other two positions he plays. Ike’s scuffling a little bit, so I thought I’d put (Turner) at first.”
Turner went 1-for-4 and scored a run.
Davis acknowledged that tweaking his ankle Friday night was a scary moment, but he was relieved to remain in the game. Saturday morning, the ankle was not swollen and, to offer proof, Davis rolled down his sock and rolled up the bottom of his pants to show an ankle that was in fact not swollen. Collins noted that because Davis reached the major leagues so quickly, it’s unlikely he has dealt with much failure. “I don’t know if he’s ever had a slump,” Collins said. “Now here he is, facing the toughest time of his career at the major-league level and that’s very, very hard to do, not even talking about the market we’re in. We’ll grind through it.”
MURPHY TAKES 5TH
Collins moved Murphy, who usually bats second, to the fifth spot in the order for the first time this season, hoping Murphy would be in a position to drive in runs. Murphy did not have an RBI, but he matched a careerbest in hits by going 4-for-4. “We won, so it was a fantastic day,” Murphy said.
“The hits were just a bonus, but I felt good in there.”
Murphy, who also had four hits on July 27, 2011, is hitting .315. Though he was happy, Murphy also noted he’d like to deliver more power. “I would personally like to start splitting the gaps a little bit,” he said.
Murphy, who does not have a home run yet, is slugging .380. . . . Andres Torres was 1-for-3 with two RBI and has at least one hit and one RBI in all five games since coming off the disabled list. . . . After the game, relief pitcher D.J. Carrasco (ankle) was activated from the DL and infielder Jordany Valdespin was optioned to Triple-a Buffalo. . . . Saturday was the fifth annual Jack Lang Day at Citi Field in honor of the former Daily News sportswriter. Lang, who won the Hall of Fame’s Spink Award in 1987, was a supporter of the Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island, and Saturday’s event raised $35,000 for the cause.