At 8:37 last night, Ike Davis came to the top step of the Mets’ dugout and waved to the crowd of 29,014 at Citi Field, taking a much needed curtain call.
For the first time all season, Davis could exhale and enjoy the moment.
His sixth-inning grand slam to center field off a first-pitch fastball from Jake Arrieta that landed on the Party City Deck was the hit that Davis and the Mets fans had been waiting for all season. The first grand slam of his career, and first home run of the season at Citi Field, lifted the Mets and the Amazin’ R.A. Dickey to a 5-0 win over the Orioles.
This was Davis’ first curtain call of his career.
“It’s really cool,’’ Davis said later. “I wasn’t expecting it. In the dugout R.A. said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get out there,’ so he gave me his helmet and I went out there and did it.’’
This grand slam is why Davis was never sent to the minors. This is why manager Terry Collins rode out Hurricane Ike. The Mets have little power as a team. They need Davis to hit home runs. It’s really that simple.
They need Slam City. Davis is one of the few Mets who can supply that kind of power.
“It is nice to hit a home run and you score multiple runs vs. six hits and you score two runs, ’’ Davis said.
Dickey, who fluttered his way to a second straight one-hitter, is magic. The Mets have the oddest of aces, the knuckleballer who cannot be touched. Dickey is 11-1. The Mets own a great 1-2 pitching punch in Dickey and Johan Santana.
What they really need is another big bat to help take the pressure off David Wright. Davis has to be that bat.
“I talked to two managers in the last two series and they asked about Ike,” Collins noted, “and one of the things they brought up is: ‘He still scares us to death when he comes to the plate’ and they know he’s hitting .165. When he gets it going, he’s dangerous, and right now he’s getting it going. When you get the hit to win a game, it’s got to lift your confidence.’’
The home run lifted Davis’ average to .196 and gave him a nine-game hitting streak. He has seven home runs after a tortuous start. The Mets came into the night with only 53 home runs as a team, which ranked 22nd in the majors.
The offense also got a lift from rookie Jordany Valdespin, who doubled and tripled and scored twice as he started at second base in place of Daniel Murphy. Expect Valdespin to be back at second tonight.
Valdespin plays with a certain enthusiasm that has been lacking in this Mets lineup. He just needs to know when to turn it up and when to tone it down.
When Davis came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, the fans cheered again. There is something about Davis that makes him so likeable. Before the game he took the time to compliment a young reporter on getting a haircut.
That’s Ike. He’s easy to like.
Davis has been through his share of woes this year, including his bout with Valley Fever, but when he took that sixth-inning curtain call, a cloud lifted on his season.
“The fans have been behind me all year, even when I wasn’t doing anything and striking out every at-bat, they still were cheering for me,’’ Davis said
The Mets need Davis and the fans know that.
“It’s easier to play the game when you’re actually doing stuff,’’ Davis added with a smile. “You can’t pout. You are going to go through bad streaks — mine was just longer than anyone would want. I think we’d hit a lot more home runs if we didn’t play in this ballpark. It’s still a big ballpark.’’
Yes, it is. That’s no alibi, that’s Ike being Ike, finally.