PORT ST. LUCIE — Daniel Murphy is starting to get the first-base knack, but how about a little more knock?
The Mets are sticking with Murphy, despite his spring struggles and a camp in which rookie Ike Davis sizzled.
Davis was optioned to the Mets’ minor-league camp earlier this week and he will begin the season at Triple-A Buffalo, just a phone call away if the 24-year-old Murphy doesn’t produce.
It has been a grind for Murphy this spring. He is batting .162 with two homers and six RBIs — but hasn’t made a glaring mistake at first base.
“I’ve seen improvement there defensively,” GM Omar Minaya said yesterday. “I still think he is going to hit. He hasn’t had offensive numbers, but he’s working on certain things and is making adjustments.”
Murphy hit his second homer of the spring on Wednesday and did not make the trip to Jupiter, Fla., for the Mets’ 2-1 exhibition loss to the Cardinals yesterday.
The Mets enlisted Keith Hernandez to tutor Murphy around the bag before camp opened, but recently the first-base icon has started working with Murphy on his swing.
Murphy isn’t alone in struggling at the plate this spring. Jeff Francoeur is hitting only .194 and David Wright is batting .229.
“These numbers don’t go on the back of your baseball card — this is to get ready for the season,” Murphy said. “Of course I would have liked to swung the bat better early, but I am starting to feel really good 1 ½ weeks before the season starts.
“It’s easier to feel good now than try to maintain it for an entire month, I think. You would like to feel good going into the season and then try to hit.”
Manager Jerry Manuel indicated Murphy might be a little too pull-happy.
“For him now, it’s just a matter of getting back to using the whole field as a hitter and becoming the offensive player we think he should be or can become,” Manuel said.
Defensively, Murphy said he has made strides from last season, when he started 97 games at first base after an ill-fated experiment playing left field for the first six weeks.
Murphy split time with Davis at first base earlier in camp, but will now begin seeing the majority of the action. Fernando Tatis and Mike Jacobs also are in the first-base mix, but it remains to be seen if the latter will make the team.
“I haven’t kicked one yet,” Murphy said. “I feel good over there. I’m just taking what [Hernandez] told me before spring training started and trying to use that.
“I’m just trying to figure out how far off I can play and still be comfortable, getting to know my other infielders, my pitchers. The more time I have over there the more comfortable I’m going to be.”
Davis hit .480 with three homers and 10 RBIs before departing for minor-league camp, but Minaya doesn’t worry that Murphy might be looking over his shoulder.
“When you are a young major league player, you’re always going to have people competing for your job,” Minaya said. “[Murphy] hasn’t shown the type of hitter he can be, but he’s still hitting the ball hard.”