; ;

Ike Rips Two More Homers, But 51s Lose 5-3

By Former Writers

June 22, 2013 No comments

621vegas

Tuscon 5, Las Vegas 3

There’s timetable for Ike Davis‘ return to the Major Leagues, much to the disappointment of Pacific Coast League pitchers.

Davis recorded his second straight two-homer game Friday night, but Triple-A Las Vegas dropped a 5-3 decision to Tucson at Kino Stadium.

The 26-year-old first baseman, who also walked, launched solo shots off Padres starter Robbie Erlin in the sixth inning and closer Miles Mikolas in the ninth.

Davis was assigned to Las Vegas on June 10 after struggling for two months in New York. He was batting .161 with five homers, 16 RBIs and 66 strikeouts in 55 games with the Mets.

Since the demotion, Davis is batting .333 with four homers, four doubles and eight RBIs. The 18th overall pick in the 2008 Draft also has drawn 11 walks while striking out nine times in 11 games.

“They say he’s made real good strides,” Mets manager Terry Collins told MLB.com on Thursday. “The report was he’s listening, trying everything that they’re asking him.”

Among the things Davis is working on are trying to limit how big the hitch in his swing is, staying back a bit more and keeping from lunging. While off to a good start, the feeling is it might be a while longer before he returns to Citi Field.

“When he starts swinging good, that’s when he’ll be back,” Collins said. “I don’t have any date. And as I said when we sent him out, I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight. It’s going to be a process of getting comfortable with what he’s working on.”

Mets No. 8 prospect Wilmer Flores also hit a solo shot and is batting .359 (28-for-78) with four homers and 18 RBIs in 19 games this month.

Jeudy Valdez homered for the Padres, who got two hits and a run scored from Cody Decker. Erlin — San Diego’s eighth-ranked prospect — improved to 6-2 after giving up two runs on three hits while striking out seven over six innings.

D.J. Mitchell is anticipated to get the start tomorrow.

(MiLB Report — Robert Emrich)