ESPN

Ike Davis moved closer to a demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas with his third four-strikeout night of 2013, which matches the franchise record for most in one season. He has one hit in his past 42 at-bats.

Terry Collins said Davis was unnerved enough that he spent the 75-minute rain delay before the game was suspended in an indoor batting cage adjacent to the Mets' clubhouse.

"I know it's wearing on him," Collins said. "I talk to these guys every day. I know it's wearing on him. He took batting practice when they stopped the game. He got in the cage. So I know it's wearing on him. These players get to the big leagues because they're very talented guys. They haven't had to deal with much failure in their whole lives. When you deal with what he's going through right now, it's pretty hard to take it, because you've never been there before. Sometimes you think it's a growing lesson, but other times it can break you down. That's why he's got so many guys supporting him, because we certainly don't want that to happen."

How much longer can the Mets stick with Davis at the major league level?

"I'm not sure," Collins said. "Some of the decision has to be what's best for Ike Davis, because you've got to still look in the long term. And this guy is too big a piece of our offensive puzzle to continue to struggle like he's struggling, because we need him. If we're going to be a team to contend with, that bat needs to be in that lineup and hitting. And right now it's not. He's not the reason why we're playing bad. He's one of them. But there's a lot of other pieces that aren't doing the job also. Now we've just got to figure out what's going to be best for him moving him forward."

Terry Collins said he wanted to get Jeremy Hefner out on a high note, in position to win and without jeopardy of losing when the manager pulled the right-hander after six innings with a 3-2 lead and his pitch count at 94.

Hefner had surrendered a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman in the first inning, but had retired 16 of the final 18 batters he faced.

He suffered a no-decision in the ultimately suspended game when LaTroy Hawkins allowed a homer to Dan Uggla, the leadoff batter in the seventh.

The Mets are 0-9 the game after Matt Harvey pitches this season and 0-8 in Hefner starts as the game resumes Saturday at 6:10 p.m., tied at 5.

If the Mets lose, Hefner would be within one loss of matching the longest streak of team losses in one pitcher's starts to open a season. The Mets lost Anthony Young's first 10 starts in 1993.

"When he came off after the sixth, he could have probably started the seventh inning, because he was feeling OK," Collins said. "But I was so excited that he pitched so well after he's been so down about not winning a game. I said, 'I'm not going to let this kid lose this game. I'm not going to do that.' He needs to move forward with a positive attitude that he pitched very, very well. Even though he did pitch well, had something happened the next inning, he goes home feeling bad about it. And I didn't want that to happen."

The resumption of Friday's suspended game may not be shown on television.

Fox is due to broadcast the regularly scheduled game at 7:15 p.m. Saturday. And SNY, which would have the rights to Friday's resumption, shares a production truck this weekend with Fox. So it may not even be technically possible to have a seamless transition from one game to the next with different crews.

It's also unclear what will happen if the first game is not completed when Fox is scheduled to go on the air for the first pitch of Saturday's regularly scheduled game at 7:15 p.m. -- whether the network would pick up coverage of the suspended game or, more likely, go to another regional game and pick up the Mets game when the regularly scheduled game is set to begin.

The suspended game is tied at 5 entering the ninth inning.

Meanwhile, Terry Collins said he will use a reliever to start the suspended game, not Saturday's regularly scheduled starter Dillon Gee. Collins said he would be concerned about using Gee at 6:10 p.m., having a quick resolution to that game, then having Gee wait too long for the regularly scheduled game.

Fireworks Night, originally scheduled for Friday, now will be held at the end of baseball on Saturday.

Ticket holders for Friday's suspended game may exchange the tickets for Saturday or any other date, subject to availability.

Citi Field gates open for fans at 5:10 p.m. Saturday.

On a soggy Fireworks Night at Citi Field, the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves never got that far.

The game was suspended with the score tied at five entering the ninth inning. It will resume at 6:10 p.m. Saturday, followed by the regularly scheduled game. The fireworks will be shot at the end of Saturday’s baseball.

Rookie phenom Evan Gattis delivered a tiebreaking, pinch-hit two-run single in the eighth against Greg Burke that plated two runs charged to Scott Rice, giving Atlanta a 5-3 lead.

A half-inning later, Daniel Murphy had an RBI single to pull the Mets within a run. A wild pitch by Anthony Varvaro in a driving rain with Rick Ankiel batting then evened the score at five.

Gattis, whose last visit to New York was when he was out of baseball and penniless and hungry, now has five go-ahead or game-tying hits in the eighth inning or later this season. That is tied with Brandon Belt for the most in the majors, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Golden Sombrero: Ike Davis struck out in all four of his at-bats, dropping him to one for his last 42. It was the third time this season he has had a four-strikeout game. That matches the franchise record for most games in a season with four or more strikeouts, joining Cliff Floyd (2004), Jerry Koosman (1970) and Ron Swoboda (1969).

When Davis fouled off a 1-2 pitch in his fourth at-bat, the Citi Field crowd offered a mock cheer.

Wilmer Flores, incidentally, is starting at first base tonight for only the second time this season with Triple-A Las Vegas.

Forever young? Jeremy Hefner pitched well enough to win, but LaTroy Hawkins, who replaced him to begin the seventh, surrendered a leadoff homer to Dan Uggla that evened the score at three.

Hefner remained 0-5 with the hard-luck no-decision.

He allowed two earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out seven in a 94-pitch effort spanning six innings.

After giving up a two-run homer in the first inning to Freddie Freeman, Hefner kept the Braves’ bats silent the next five frames, retiring 16 of the final 18 batters he faced.

Young men: The Upton brothers had some costly miscues in the field.

Justin Upton had a pair of misplays in left field, contributing to two Mets runs. In the first, he misread and had Lucas Duda’s liner drop in front of him for an RBI single that pulled the Mets within 2-1. In the fifth, he again misread a shot -- this time from Murphy -- which landed over his head for a double. Murphy eventually scored on Marlon Byrd’s single as the Mets took a 3-2 lead.

B.J. Upton’s error in center in the eighth also proved costly. On Murphy’s single that pulled the Mets within 5-4, the center fielder misplayed the ball on the slick turf and was charged with an error that allowed Ruben Tejada to advance to third. That put Tejada in position to score the tying run on the wild pitch.

Buck shot: John Buck’s 11th homer of the season, a solo shot in the fourth against Kris Medlen, evened the score at two. It was Buck’s first long ball since May 3, at Atlanta against Mike Minor.

What's next: Dillon Gee (2-5, 6.04 ERA) opposes left-hander Mike Minor (5-2, 2.78 ERA) in Saturday’s regularly scheduled game.

LAS VEGAS 6, SALT LAKE 5: Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Josh Satin homered for the 51s. David Aardsma picked up his first Las Vegas save with a scoreless ninth. Box

PORTLAND 10, BINGHAMTON 9: Jeff Walters surrendered a triple, run-scoring wild pitch and RBI double in the top of the ninth as Portland took a 10-8 lead. Josh Rodriguez doubled in the bottom half to plate Wilfredo Tovar and pull the B-Mets (26-22) within a run, but Cesar Puello lined out to center field to end the game. Binghamton overcame 5-0 and 7-2 deficits to pull even at 8, buoyed by seventh-inning homers from Puello and Blake Forsythe. Starter Cory Mazzoni allowed five runs on five hits and four walks in four innings. Dylan Owen, after a demotion from Las Vegas, surrendered three runs (two earned) in two innings in his first Double-A appearance since 2011. Box

BRADENTON 8, ST. LUCIE 6: Domingo Tapia surrendered six runs on two hits, four walks and a hit batter and was knocked out after recording only one out in the first. His ERA rose from 2.23 to 3.86. Tapia, who had been sidelined after burning his non-pitching hand cooking, made his first Florida State League appearance in 19 days. Trailing 7-0, St. Lucie (26-20) mounted a late rally. Charley Thurber had a two-run double and Cam Maron and Matt Reynolds had RBI singles in a four-run eighth. Travis Taijeron's two-out RBI single in the ninth pulled the Mets within two runs. Jim Fuller, Chasen Bradford and Hamilton Bennett held Bradenton scoreless over the final five innings. St. Lucie placed right-hander Hansel Robles on the DL this week. Box

SAVANNAH 6, AUGUSTA 5: Kevin Plawecki belted a three-run homer in the first inning. Savannah then overcame a 5-3 deficit with a three-run fifth that included a bases-loaded walk by Plawecki and two-run double from Stefan Sabol. Trying to protect a one-run lead in the ninth, Beck Wheeler loaded the bases with none out but escaped for his fourth save with two strikeouts and a lineout to center. Gnats starter Matt Koch was charged with five runs (four earned) on seven hits in five innings. Julian Hilario, Hunter Carnevale and Wheeler combined for four scoreless relief innings. Box

Compiled from team reports

With Ike Davis' freefall continuing, Wilmer Flores happens to be playing first base with Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday night for only the second time this season.

Flores nearly exclusively has appeared at second base with the 51s. He has appeared in nine career minor league games at first base. The other seven instances occurred with Double-A Binghamton last season.

Flores entered Friday's game batting .271 with four homers, 28 RBIs and a .323 on-base percentage in 191 plate appearances with the 51s.

He originally played shortstop during his professional career, but was moved off the position last season because of slow foot speed.

A scout who has watched Las Vegas this season said Friday: "Mets fans are going to be shocked and disappointed at the lack of mobility and range of Flores. No way he will be able to handle anything other than first base in the major leagues. And he doesn't project enough power at that position to be an everyday guy."

The Mets are expected to wait until after the Super 2 deadline to promote Zack Wheeler, so the pitching prospect is paid close to the major league minimum and not at an arbitration-influenced rate in 2016. So when is that?

The Mets' projection, at least as of a couple of weeks ago, seemed to be a little bit earlier than some other teams -- somewhere in the early June range, to no later than June 10.

A front-office executive from another team told ESPNNewYork.com that promoting a prospect after June 11 is "mostly safe" and after June 20 is "super safe."

An executive from a different organization estimated June 15 "and possibly a few days later.”

Said a third team's exec: "Mid-late June is usually safe."

So figure about three more starts for Wheeler with Triple-A Las Vegas.

Wheeler is next scheduled to pitch Monday in Vegas against Salt Lake. Assuming he stays on turn with the 51s, that also would give him Pacific Coast League starts on June 1 and June 7. (There is a team off-day June 5.)

So you're potentially talking June 12 against the St. Louis Cardinals at the earliest for Wheeler -- and maybe a few days after that if the Mets want to be extra cautious with the Super 2 date. His debut come come during the following series, against the less-imposing Chicago Cubs at Citi Field.

If the Mets wait until June 17, they can start Wheeler on the road, as they purposely did with Matt Harvey to try to limit the spotlight and pressure. Of course, the Mets would then be in Atlanta -- which happens to be where Wheeler grew up, which might increase rather than diminish the pressure.

Terry Collins said the Mets have not internally started to discuss first-base replacements if Ike Davis is demoted, but the manager acknowledged Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda and Justin Turner would be the clear choices.

"If Ike's not here, we have several options," Collins said. "Now have we discussed them? No. Because he's the first baseman still. But you've got Lucas, you've got Dan Murphy, you've got Justin Turner. We've got options. But no one has discussed anything about any replacements yet."

Collins noted Davis would need to demonstrate changes if he ended up in the minors, not just merely launch a few fly balls that happen to end up homers because the ball carries in the Pacific Coast League.

"I've had a few players of Ike's stature that came back to the minor leagues," Collins said, referring to his time managing in Triple-A. "And I used to tell them: Look, you've got 24 hours to be unhappy. And, after that, your job is to get back. You have two choices: They're either going to be right by sending you down or they're going to be wrong by sending you down. What do you want to do? Now, we've got to go to work. Complain, do all the stuff you want to do for 24 hours. And then we've got to get back to work.

"Obviously, in this situation, where we're going to Vegas, it could be that Ike Davis hits five fly balls and hits five home runs. Does that mean he's ready to come back? I don't know. If he is sent out, the reports have got to be his swing is more consistent. He's driving balls to left field, left-center field, staying on the ball better, not swinging at balls out of the strike zone. Those types of things are the reports you want to hear. But in the development of those types of guys, the first thing you have to do is make sure their mind is right. 'I got off to a bad start. I've got to fix it. Let's go get it fixed and I'll get back there.' ...

"Sometimes you send them to a place like Vegas, that confidence will come back in a hurry. I've seen some guys go down there and hit the ball pretty good and all of a sudden, 'Boy, I'm ready now.' ... But in Ike's case, I don't want, if something should happen and he goes to Vegas, to look up and have him hit a home run tonight and a home run tomorrow and a home run the next day and all of a sudden say, 'He's back.' I think the process is going to be a little longer than that."

Collins said he does not think the daily chatter about a potential Davis demotion is having a harmful impact on the team in general.

"I don't know if it overwhelms the other guys," Collins said. "It's certainly tough on Ike. At this level, every player puts an added amount of pressure on themselves when they're the go-to guys. Now, with all the focus and all the questions, there's even more pressure on Ike. And that's why we've tried to take a little bit off with the conversation Sandy [Alderson] had last week in Chicago with him, to try to ease his mind a little bit -- 'Hey, look, focus on the game. Don't focus on the stuff off the field.' That's why I took him out of the fourth hole. He's got enough heat on him, let alone hit in the fourth hole and struggle."

Barring a rainout beforehand, here are the projected matchups for next week's Subway Series.

The first two games will be played at Citi Field. The Bronx then hosts the latter two games. The Subway Series has been sliced to four games this season, down from six.

Monday: LHP Jonathon Niese vs. RHP Phil Hughes

Tuesday: RHP Matt Harvey vs. RHP Hiroki Kuroda

Wednesday: RHP Jeremy Hefner vs. RHP David Phelps

Thursday: RHP Dillon Gee vs. LHP Vidal Nuno

Baseball America's latest draft projection has the Mets taking University of Arkansas right-hander Ryne Stanek with the 11th overall pick.

Writes BA:

The prevailing belief in the industry is that New York wants a bat such as [New Mexico first/third baseman D.J.] Peterson, Mississippi State outfielder Hunter Renfroe, one of the Georgia high school outfielders or California prep first baseman Dom Smith. But after taking high school position players in the last two first rounds (Brandon Nimmo, Gavin Cecchini), the Mets may choose to go after a college pitcher such as Stanek or [Oral Roberts right-hander Alex] Gonzalez.

Keith Law's draft projection has the Mets selecting Smith. He has Stanek going at No. 7 to the Red Sox. Writes Law:

Stanek came into the year as a potential top-five pick, one of the three major college arms in the class along with Appel and Manaea, but a very inconsistent spring has dropped him out of that group and perhaps to the back half of the first round. Stanek will sit 92-96 most outings but has below-average command of the pitch, often getting on the side of the ball and leaving it up and flat for hitters to square up. He's been throwing two breaking balls this season, however they tend to run into each other; the power curveball is probably ahead of the hard but often flat slider, although Arkansas' coaches call the slider far too often, and almost never have Stanek throwing inside.

Stanek takes a very long stride to the plate after a high leg kick, swinging his front leg (rather than the 'step over' move) and extending fully before landing. His arm is very quick and he pronates pretty early, although it lags slightly behind that front leg and his shoulder is wide open as a result. His arm slot was closer to low 3/4 in high school but he's now just under true 3/4, high enough that he really shouldn't be getting around the side of that slider so often.

His stuff points to a No. 2 starter ceiling, but he'll have to learn to pitch off his fastball and emphasize the curveball more once he gets away from Fayetteville.

Reliever Jeurys Familia, who landed on the disabled list May 12 with biceps tendinitis, is due to begin a rehab assignment Saturday with Class A St. Lucie, Terry Collins said.

Collins said Familia is expected to also pitch with Triple-A Las Vegas before begin activated from the disabled list.

Frank Francisco, on the other hand, continues his exceedingly long rehab from December surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. Collins described Francisco as status quo -- meaning no one in the organization can venture a guess as to when the ex-closer will declare himself healthy enough to resume pitching.

Francisco last pitched in a Florida State League game on May 8. He was examined five days later by team doctors, who found a mild strain of the flexor pronator. He was advised not to throw for 72 hours, then attempt to resume throwing.

Here are the lineups for Friday's series opener against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves. The Mets will attempt to avoid falling 11 games under .500 for the first time this early in a season since they were 14-28 on May 24, 1993.

Mets
Daniel Murphy, 2b
Rick Ankiel, cf
David Wright, 3b
Lucas Duda, lf
Marlon Byrd, rf
John Buck, c
Ike Davis, 1b
Ruben Tejada, ss
Jeremy Hefner, rhp

Braves
Andrelton Simmons, ss
Jason Heyward, rf
Justin Upton, lf
Freddie Freeman, 1b
Brian McCann, c
Dan Uggla, 2b
Juan Francisco, 3b
B.J. Upton, cf
Kris Medlen, rhp

FIRST PITCH: The Atlanta Braves won 14 straight division titles until finally getting unseated by the Mets in 2006.

Yet after only suffering through two losing seasons, Atlanta regenerated back into a contender. The Braves posted 86 wins in 2009, then 91, 89 and 94.

How did it happen so rapidly?

Primarily good drafting, and supplemented by trades that relied on the farm system to pull off the deals. There was minimal free-agency activity.

Among its current contributors:

Atlanta developed catchers Brian McCann (second round, 2002) and Evan Gattis (23rd round, 2010), first baseman Freddie Freeman (second round, 2007), shortstop Andrelton Simmons (second round, 2010), right fielder Jason Heyward (first round, 2007), starting pitchers Kris Medlen (10th round, 2006), Mike Minor (first round, 2009) and Julio Teheran (signed at age 16 out of Colombia), and closer Craig Kimbrel (third round, 2008).

Starting pitchers Tim Hudson and Paul Maholm, second baseman Dan Uggla, third baseman Juan Francisco and left fielder Justin Upton were acquired via trades, while center fielder B.J. Upton came as a free agent.

Maybe that’s instructive as the Mets head toward their fifth straight losing season.

Read the Mets-Braves series preview here.

Friday’s news reports:

• Zack Wheeler will make two to three more starts for Triple-A Las Vegas before being promoted to the majors, Mike Puma reports in the Post. Or, in other words, he likely will be promoted right after the projected Super Two cutoff so he is not eligible for an extra year of arbitration. (The Mets do not publicly acknowledge that is central to their thinking.)

Wheeler, after receiving a cortisone injection in Manhattan and missing a start with Triple-A Las Vegas, reentered the 51s’ rotation Wednesday at Iowa. He allowed three runs, including a pair of solo homers, in five innings.

Wheeler’s impending arrival should mean Jeremy Hefner’s turns in the rotation appear numbered.

Hefner (0-5, 5.00 ERA) opposes the right-hander Medlen (1-5, 3.02) in today’s 7:10 p.m. series opener. The Mets are 0-9 in the game following a Matt Harvey start this season.

Read more on Wheeler in the Daily News.

• SNY ratings are way down for Mets games this season. Writes Neil Best in Newsday:

Mets games on SNY are averaging 1.84 percent of homes in 2013, on pace for the lowest such figure in the network's eight-year history, and down 21.7 percent from this point last year. Last season's final SNY number was 2.25, the network's second-lowest ever, slightly surpassing its all-time low in . . . 2011.

Not much to analyze here. The Mets are awful, except when Matt Harvey pitches. (Yup, there are ratings bumps whenever he is on the mound.)

• Who plays first base if Ike Davis is demoted in the next few days? Terry Collins says he is undecided. The options are to move Lucas Duda or Daniel Murphy there, use Justin Turner or promote Josh Satin (not on 40-man roster) or Zach Lutz.

First base is Duda’s natural position, but a temporary shift might complicate his return to the outfield once Davis returned. (Then again, it might give the Mets a look at life after Davis, should they choose to part ways with him during next offseason and open 2014 with Duda at first base.)

“You can put Murphy over there at first and let [Jordany] Valdespin have a chance at second,” Collins told the Post. “But I don’t have any idea yet. You can put Duda over there, but if that’s the case who plays left field? You can put Turner at first and see how he does, but until [Davis’ situation] is decided, I really haven’t gotten anything etched in stone yet.”

Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post believes Davis should temporarily relocate to the minors. He notes catcher Jesus Montero was just dispatched to Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners with only nine RBIs, the same total as Davis, as well as a .208 average. Writes Sherman:

At this point Davis probably is too open to new advice, overloaded with information, being killed by attempts at kindness. He looks mentally fried, beaten down by the debilitating brew of failure, daily interrogations on that failure and recognition there simply is no quick fix to a .147 batting average and .481 OPS -- both major league lows among 169 qualifiers.

So for his good and that of a team consumed by his daily travails, Davis should be sent to Triple-A. Not for punishment, but to try to recalibrate his swing and resuscitate his confidence. After all -- besides Matt Harvey’s starts -- Davis’ at-bats have become the must-watch event around the Mets, just for all the wrong reasons. Let’s see what horrible thing Davis can do now.

Writes columnist Bill Madden in the Daily News:

It is a bit mystifying as to why Sandy Alderson is taking so long to do what he and everyone else -- owners, coaching staff, players and fans around the Mets -- know he has to do: get Ike Davis out of here and into the rarefied air of Las Vegas, where he can hopefully clear his head and rediscover his batting stroke.

Maybe it’s because the Mets’ GM hasn’t yet decided what to do about the other half of the equation, which would be, whom to replace Davis with?

John Buck, who hit .192 last season, can empathize with Davis’ struggles. Buck sought out self-help writer Jim Fannin, author of “The Pebble in the Shoe,” and used Fannin’s visualization techniques last offseason, writes Kristie Ackert in the Daily News. Even before getting traded to the Mets, Buck pictured himself succeeding at Citi Field (because it was the site of this year’s All-Star Game). “And after my agent called and said I was traded to the Mets, I called Jim and said ‘Man that was weird,’” Buck told Ackert. “But it was a good move. It felt right.”

Davis’ teammates support him, write Marc Carig in Newsday and Brendan Prunty in the Star-Ledger.

The Amazing Kreskin has offered to help the Amazin’s Davis, writes Jamie Uribarri in the Daily News.

• Jenrry Mejia allowed two runs in five innings in his second rehab start with St. Lucie. Mark Cohoon’s complete game wasn’t enough as Binghamton lost to New Britain, 1-0. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Teddy Cahill at MLB.com profiles Savannah catcher Kevin Plawecki.

• Hefner is the anti-Harvey. The Mets are 0-8 in his starts this season. Writes Jared Diamond in the Journal:

If Hefner continues to lose, he will soon find himself in ignominious company. Since 1919, there have been only 21 instances of a team losing a pitcher's first 10 starts of a season. Matt Beech holds this dubious record, with the Philadelphia Phillies losing in his first 14 outings in 1997. In 1985, the Pittsburgh Pirates went 4-21 when Jose DeLeon pitched -- the worst team record for any pitcher who made at least 25 starts in a season since 1919.

For Hefner to threaten those marks, the Mets would need to lose the rest of his starts for about the next month.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Hefner said.

Read more on Hefner in the Record.

• Benjamin Hoffman in the Times suggests Hefner and the Yankees’ Vernon Wells symbolize their teams’ seasons.

• From the bloggers … John Delcos at Mets Report wonders where the accountability is with the Mets. … Rising Apple discusses whether Murphy is an All-Star candidate. … Mark Berman at Blogging Mets wonders if the Mets are as bad as we expected, or if they are somehow even worse.

BIRTHDAYS: South Korean right-hander Jae Weong Seo turns 36. … Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, a product of Toms River, N.J., who pitched for the Mets in 1995 and ’96, is 45. … Left-hander Justin Hampson, currently pitching at Las Vegas, turns 33.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

the 3 #Mets starters that #Braves will face are a combined 2-15 and have ERAs of 5.00, 6.40 and 6.59.

— David O'Brien (@ajcbraves) May 24, 2013

YOU’RE UP: How should the Mets fill first base if Ike Davis is demoted? The options: Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner, Josh Satin and Zach Lutz.

IOWA 4, LAS VEGAS 0: Wilmer Flores and Brandon Hicks had two hits apiece, but the 51s (21-24) were blanked by Chris Rusin and two relievers. Starter Matt Fox (1-1) surrendered a solo homer to Logan Watkins to lead off the bottom of the first. Fox was charged with three runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings. Box

NEW BRITAIN 1, BINGHAMTON 0: Mark Cohoon (3-2) allowed one run on six hits and struck out seven over eight innings in a hard-luck loss. He tossed his first complete game this season. Cohoon allowed only two singles through the first four innings, requiring 37 pitches. The lone run came in the fifth, when Danny Ortiz ripped a leadoff homer. The B-Mets were limited to six hits. After waiting through a 70-minute rain delay to start the contest, the B-Mets (26-21) threatened but failed to break through over the first five innings against New Britain starter Logan Darnell. Darnell then worked around an error in a scoreless sixth and put up a perfect seventh. His biggest challenge came in the eighth, his final inning. Cesar Puello singled with one out and stole second, but was stranded when Cory Vaughn popped out. Michael Tonkin took over for Darnell in the ninth and hit Joe Bonfe with a 1-2 pitch, putting the tying run on base. The righty escaped by inducing Xorge Carrillo to bounce into a fielder’s choice and Wilfredo Tovar to ground out to end the game. Box

ST. LUCIE 8, DUNEDIN 5: In his second official rehab start, Jenrry Mejia allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight in five innings. Aderlin Rodriguez produced a three-run homer in the first, but St. Lucie (26-19) trailed 4-3 until tallying five runs in the eighth. The frame began with five straight singles -- from Robbie Shields, Matt Reynolds, Dustin Lawley, Rodriguez and Charley Thurber. Travis Taijeron added a sacrifice fly and Cam Maron produced an RBI double. Before the game, St. Lucie added right-hander Rainy Lara, the reigning South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week. Lara went 4-2 with a 1.42 ERA in eight starts with Savannah. Marco Camarena was sent from St. Lucie to Savannah. Box

SAVANNAH 3, AUGUSTA 1: Starter Robert Gsellman limited Augusta to one run on three hits and a walk in seven innings. Savannah (26-19) took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on Jayce Boyd's double, which scored Yucarybert De La Cruz and Eudy Pina. Paul Sewald tossed a scoreless eighth. Bret Mitchell then notched his ninth save. Boyd, who went 2-for-4, is hitting .342. Box

Compiled from team reports

METS (17-27, fourth place/NL East) vs. ATLANTA BRAVES (28-18, first place/NL East)

Friday: RHP Jeremy Hefner (0-5, 5.00) vs. RHP Kris Medlen (1-5, 3.02), 7:10 p.m. ET

Saturday: RHP Dillon Gee (2-5, 6.04) vs. LHP Mike Minor (5-2, 2.78), 7:15 p.m. ET

Sunday: RHP Shaun Marcum (0-5, 6.59) vs. RHP Julio Teheran (3-1, 3.99), 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN

Braves short hops

• Left fielder Justin Upton, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Jan. 24, is tied with Baltimore’s Chris Davis for the MLB lead in homers with 14. Upton became the first player in major league history to homer five times in his first five games with a team, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

• Right fielder Jason Heyward is hitting .304 with two RBIs in six games since returning from the disabled list Friday. Heyward underwent an appendectomy on April 22. He missed 22 games. He was hitting .121 when he landed on the DL.

• Center fielder B.J. Upton (.155, 4 HRs, 7 RBIs) snapped an 0-for-16 skid Saturday. He then homered Wednesday for the first time since April 23. He has yet to record a hit in three straight games, and will be bidding to accomplish that Friday at Citi Field.

• Catcher Brian McCann made his season debut May 6 after recovering from Oct. 16, 2012 shoulder surgery.

The Braves are now carrying six relievers and three catchers: McCann, rookie phenom Evan Gattis and Gerald Laird.

Gattis hit an opposite-field grand slam on a 3-0 pitch from Minnesota’s Vance Worley on Wednesday, in the catcher’s first start in eight days. He has 10 homers, which lead major league rookies, in only 122 at-bats. Manager Fredi Gonzalez has struggled to find playing time for Gattis in the three-catcher alignment. Gattis also can play first base or left field, but those are occupied.

• The Braves lost a pair of top-notch relievers to Tommy John surgery in a six-day span. Lefty Jonny Venters, who had not appeared this season, underwent the procedure last Thursday; this was his second Tommy John surgery. Fellow southpaw Eric O'Flaherty, who had held lefty batters to a .143 average this season, underwent the elbow procedure Tuesday.

Atlanta pitchers have undergone a spate of Tommy John surgeries -- seven among major leaguers in the past five years, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The recipients: Peter Moylan (May 2008), Tim Hudson (August 2008), Kris Medlen (August 2010), Arodys Vizcaino (March 2012), Brandon Beachy (June 2012), Venters and O’Flaherty.

• The Braves have a 2.79 bullpen ERA, narrowly behind the San Francisco Giants (2.77) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2.78) for the MLB lead. Craig Kimbrel notched his 100th career save on May 9, becoming the second-youngest to reach that plateau (24 years, 348 days). Only ex-Met Francisco Rodriguez (24 years, 246 days) was younger.

• Since O’Flaherty landed on the DL, Triple-A closer Cory Rasmus was promoted. He's the younger brother of Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Colby Rasmus. Cory made his major league debut Wednesday. The siblings’ brother Casey is a 23-year-old catcher who is hitting .300 for the St. Louis Cardinals’ Class A Peoria affiliate.

• Beachy is set to begin a rehab assignment, so Atlanta will have to create a rotation spot soon.

• Reliever Jordan Walden (shoulder) is not eligible to be activated from the DL until after the Mets series.

• With their bullpen injuries, Atlanta signed lefty reliever Joe Beimel, 36, to a minor league contract. He also is returning from Tommy John surgery.

• Andrelton Simmons is the only every-day shortstop without an error.

• Dan Uggla (.182, 8 HRs, 16 RBIs) is 3-for-35 with 13 strikeouts in his last 10 starts. Ramiro Pena has started two games at second base in the past week.

• Julio Teheran is coming off an outing in which he allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins.

• Medlen limited the Los Angeles Dodgers to one run (unearned) in seven innings in his last start. The Braves are 3-6 in Medlen's starts this season. Entering this year, Atlanta had won 23 straight games started by Medlen -- the most in one pitcher’s starts in major league history.

• The Braves arrive in New York off a 6-0 homestand, during which they swept the Dodgers and Twins.