MIAMI — The Mets are happy with Ike Davis’ recent production using a crouched stance, but manager Terry Collins yesterday said the first baseman still has room for improvement at the plate.
On Friday, Davis hit a two-run blast for his 25th home run of the season and has raised his batting average significantly after suffering through a porous start. Despite going 0-for-3 with a walk in the Mets’ 5-3 victory over the Marlins last night, Davis still is batting .223 after spending the season’s first two months in the .160s and .170s.
”One of the things we’ve got to do certainly is we’ve got to get Ike to be a little more productive against left-handed pitching,” Collins said, referring to Davis’ .179 average against lefties. “He’s going to see a lot of left-handed pitching and we’ve got to get him going because if he starts doing damage against lefties it will change the other dynamics of the lineup.”
Collins suggested Davis, who did not face a lefty last night, might have to revert to a more upright stance — which he used earlier in the season — to hit lefties better.
But Davis said he is in no hurry to switch back.
“The tall stance this year, I wasn’t seeing the ball and my timing was all off,” he said. “I would like to be a little more upright, but being spread out a little more has put me in a situation where I can hit more than just the fastball for a home run.”
* Collins said he hasn’t considered how he will use Mike Nickeas and Zach Lutz, both of whom arrived yesterday in the first wave of September call-ups.
Nickeas gives the Mets a third catcher and Lutz can be used at both corner-infield positions.
* Pitcher Collin McHugh will join the Mets for tomorrow’s game in St. Louis, where he is scheduled to start against the Cardinals.
Collins said he is no fan of the September call up system — he says it can affect a pennant race — but from the Mets’ perspective it is a good opportunity to receive looks at younger players.
The defending champion Cardinals might have reached the playoffs last year, Collins said, in part because manager Tony La Russa had access to so many players in September.
“I thought Tony last year in he month of September used his call-ups to absolute perfection,” Collins said.
* The Mets, who did not hit a long ball last night, had their consecutive homer streak snapped at seven games. It was one short of the team’s longest streak of the season.
During this latest stretch, the Mets had hit 10 homers and went 5-2.
* With his gem against the Marlins on Friday, R.A. Dickey became the first Mets pitcher to throw three shutouts in a season after his 37th birthday.
The last major leaguer with at least three shutouts in a season at age 37 was Arizona’s Randy Johnson in 2002.
mpuma@nypost.com
