After launching a blast to deep right field in the first inning last night, Ike Davis saw Nick Swisher parked on the warning track.
“I thought I got it a little better than that,” Davis said.
It was indeed a little better than that — literally. Davis’ shot against Andy Pettitte hit off Swisher’s glove and went over the fence for a three-run homer, the game’s most important hit in the Mets’ 6-4 Subway Series win at Citi Field.
The blast also continued Davis’ encouraging surge. In his last 12 games, the Mets first baseman is now hitting .351 (13-for-37) with three homers, 15 RBIs and eight walks. He has raised his average from .158 to .191.
It’s critical production. The Mets need Davis to hit, now and going forward, and the 25-year-old is starting to do exactly that.
“It’s just seeing the ball,” Davis said at his locker after he was finished lifting weights and slurping a chocolate milk. “Pick up the ball first before I decide to swing.”
It was particularly impressive for Davis last night that his homer came off Pettitte. For one thing, Davis entered the night a complete disaster against lefties this year. He was hitting a measly .176 with three homers in 68 at-bats versus southpaws and had struck out almost a third of those times (22).
For another, Pettitte is not just a lefty but one of the league’s best lefties. And it was Davis’ first career plate appearance (and pitch seen) against the Yankee veteran.
“It was a hanging cutter to Ike. It was a mistake I cannot make,” Pettitte said. “As soon as he hit it, I thought it was gone. It looked like it was in Swish’s glove from my view and bounced out, but I haven’t seen a replay. I know he’s an aggressive first-pitch swinger.”
Davis’ homer was huge, as was his grand slam on Monday against the Orioles to back R.A. Dickey’s one-hit shutout. Interestingly, all three of Davis’ homers during this hot streak have come in the first game of a series — against the Rays on June 12, then the Orioles on Monday and the Yankees last night.
Additional reporting by Dan Martin