Davis will get to fight slump in majors

Ike Davis again was out of the Mets' starting lineup last night, but the slumping first baseman remains very much in the team's plans.

Before the game against the San Diego Padres, manager Terry Collins said he met with Davis on Wednesday night and told him the team has no immediate plans to send him to Triple-A Buffalo.

Collins plans to play him against righthanded starters, use him selectively against lefthanders and have him work through his funk in the big leagues.

"If he's going to be an outstanding major league player, he has to fight through some tough times," Collins said. "Every time someone goes into a slump, we can't just send them down.''

Collins said it will not be a platoon situation, adding that there are some lefthanders against whom Davis will start. Collins said he plans to keep Davis in the lineup Monday when the Mets face Phillies lefthander Cole Hamels.

He's an outstanding player," Collins said of the 25-year-old Davis. "I told him, he's our first baseman. I told him, I can't promise you you'll play every day, because you have to put the best lineup out there . . . He'll be in there tomorrow . . . We're a better team with him out there."

Davis was diagnosed with Valley Fever during spring training, and it's not known if he has some kind of physical problem. Regardless, he has struggled at the plate, producing only one multi-hit game this month.

Davis pinch hit a two-run single in the eighth inning Thursday night but still is batting only .138 in May and has four hits in his last 37 at-bats.

After the game, Collins said Davis looked like his old self.

"Our intent was to ease off a little bit and let him take a deep breath and think about what he needs to do to be successful," Collins said.

Thursday night marked the third time since Friday that Davis was not in the starting lineup against a lefthander. All this had led to a lot of conjecture about Davis' future and a lot of sleepless nights for Davis.

Davis said after the game that it took some pressure off him when he was told he wasn't going down.

"I could go to Buffalo and hit .400, but I'd just have to come back here and prove what I have to do here," he said. "It might give me a mental break to go down, but it's not going to help me out here. So I'm excited to get back on the field and know I'll be here.

"Hopefully, I can continue doing what I did tonight.''