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FIRST PITCH: Matt Harvey gives Mets fans their once-every-five-days reprieve from an otherwise miserable season when he opposes unbeaten Cincinnati Reds right-hander Mat Latos (4-0, 2.91 ERA) at 1:10 p.m.

Since his major league debut last July 26 at Arizona, Harvey has compiled a 2.12 ERA, which ranks third in the majors during that span.

This season, Harvey’s 1.55 ERA also ranks third in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (1.35) and Diamondbacks’ Patrick Corbin (1.44).

The Reds will bid for a three-game sweep at Citi Field for the second straight season.

Wednesday’s news reports:

• Sandy Alderson, appearing on the SNY telecast during last night’s game, said about potentially demoting Ike Davis: “It’s hard to ignore what happened last year. No. 1, we went through the same scenario the first part of the year. It’s troubling that it’s happened again. The positive is he did so well in the second half. So I think it’s hard to ignore that. At the same time, you do have to think about what might be different this year than it was last year. … It may be he is better off going to Las Vegas for some period of time. But at this point we’re going to live with Ike for a little longer.”

Alderson added that he believes Zack Wheeler will merit consideration for a promotion after two or three more outings with Las Vegas (without stating the promotion will be after the projected Super 2 deadline, which seems like common sense). The GM also believes Travis d’Arnaud, who will wear a protective boot on his fractured left foot for another nine days, will appear in the majors this season.

Watch Alderson’s appearance here. Read more in the Post.

• David Wright had a two-out grounder go through his legs with the bases loaded and two runs scored in what became a 48-pitch, three-run first inning for Jonathon Niese. Niese managed to complete six innings despite the heavy first-inning workload, but the Mets again mustered no offense and lost to the Reds, 4-0, Tuesday. Collin McHugh surrendered a solo homer to Devin Mesoraco in the ninth for the lone other run.

The Mets’ three hits matched a season low. They have scored three runs or fewer in nine straight home games, matching the ninth-longest streak in franchise history.

Davis, the focus of boos, stranded two in scoring position with a fourth-inning groundout against Reds starter Mike Leake, his teammate at Arizona State. Davis is 0-for-24 with runners in scoring position in his past 18 games.

The Mets are 2-10 in their past dozen home games.

Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Newsday, Times, Star-Ledger, Record and MLB.com.

• Jeremy Hefner appeared on “Outside the Lines” Wednesday to discuss the disaster wrought by a tornado in his former hometown of Moore, Okla. Hefner attended kindergarten and first grade at Briarwood Elementary, which was destroyed in the twister. He remains an Oklahoman. Watch the ESPN video here. Read more in the Times and Newsday.

• Columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post writes about Harvey Day:

Harvey is having fun. When he took the field for pregame stretching last night “Clique’’ by Kanye West, Jay-Z and Big Sean was blaring throughout Citi Field. To his teammates’ delight Harvey busted some moves. Clique is off the album “Cruel Summer.’’

Indeed.

On game day, Harvey is all business. From bloody noses to all kinds of weather to playing for a team that has to scale a mountain to score a run, nothing seems to stop Harvey from doing his job.

• Wheeler is due to reenter the Las Vegas rotation today at 1:05 p.m. ET at Iowa after missing a turn. He received a cortisone injection last Wednesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan for swelling in the AC joint in his right shoulder.

• In a spot start in his Triple-A debut, Rafael Montero took a scoreless effort into the seventh and final inning of Game 1 of a doubleheader. He then allowed a leadoff homer to Brian Bogusevic and departed with the score tied at 1 after a two-out walk. Josh Edgin entered and allowed the inherited run to score as Montero was tagged with a loss in his first appearance with the 51s. Las Vegas was swept with a 6-5 loss in Game 2. The 51s scored five runs in the top of the sixth to even the score, then Gonzalez Germen surrendered the tiebreaking run in the bottom half of the inning. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Montreal has named a street in the city after the late Expo/Met Gary Carter. Read more in the Montreal Gazette.

• Due to limited demand compared with previous seasons, Mets-Yankees Subway Series tickets for next week are not skyrocketing in price on the secondary market, reports Mark La Monica in Newsday. Writes La Monica:

The combined average price for the four-game Subway Series (May 27-30) this year is $133 as of Monday, according to TiqIQ.com, a ticket reseller that aggregates ticket prices across multiple secondary markets. That's down 13 percent from 2012, 19 percent from 2011 and 34 percent from 2010.

• From the bloggers … The Eddie Kranepool Society looks at fan relations at Citi Field. .. Shannon from Mets Police wonders why there is a banner of Keith Miller outside Citi Field.

BIRTHDAYS: Collin Cowgill turns 27. He is hitting .236 with two homers and six RBIs and has a .333 on-base percentage in 15 games with Las Vegas since debuting with the Pacific Coast League club on May 4.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

At least Ike didn't strike out!!.. that's progress @adamrubinespn

— anthony Manners (@MannersNYC) May 22, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Do you approve of the Mets’ patience with Ike Davis?

WHAT IT MEANS: Starter Matt Harvey drove in his own damn run.

With the Mets torn between desperately needing a run and also not wanting to pull their ace for a weak and undependable bullpen, manager Terry Collins allowed Harvey to hit with two outs, Rick Ankiel at second base and the score tied in the seventh inning.

Who needed a pinch hitter?

Harvey -- with his pitch count at 92 and having retired the last 11 batters he had faced -- gave himself a one-run lead by hitting the ball through the left side of the infield for an RBI single that chased opposing starter Edwin Jackson. That proved the decisive blow as the Mets held on for a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The Mets have won two in a row after losing six straight.

Right fielder Marlon Byrd threw out a runner at the plate in the eighth. David Wright and Daniel Murphy earlier produced solo homers.

Harvey improved to 5-0, snapping a streak of four straight no-decisions during which he posted a 1.98 ERA while the Mets scored only six runs with him on the mound.

Harvey’s final line: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. He threw 106 pitches (78 strikes).

He had retired 14 straight batters, and 20 of 21, until allowing a leadoff single to Darwin Barney in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Julio Borbon then bunted Barney to second. Collins pulled Harvey and inserted heavily used left-handed reliever Scott Rice to face the lefty-hitting David DeJesus.

DeJesus singled to right field, but ex-Cub Byrd -- who had entered the previous half-inning for Jordany Valdespin -- fired a strike to the plate to throw out Barney as he attempted to score from second.

Harvey has now allowed three runs or fewer in 16 straight starts, the fifth-longest streak by a starter in franchise history. The only longer: Dwight Gooden (24 straight, 1985), Johan Santana (21, 2008-09), Tom Seaver (19, 1971-72) and Gooden (17, 1985-86).

Harvey had showed his mortality in the first inning when the Cubs jumped on his fastball. He allowed a one-out single to Starlin Castro, then a double by Anthony Rizzo that put both Cubs in scoring position.

The fielding let Harvey down after that. Shortstop Ruben Tejada ranged to his left to field a grounder from Alfonso Soriano behind the bag, but bounced the throw to first baseman Ike Davis. Davis was unable to scoop it and the ball got by him. Both runners scored as the Cubs briefly grabbed a 2-1 lead.

The official scorer officially ruled it an infield single (very generous) and an E-6 allowing Rizzo to score from second. Both runs were earned because the scorer determined that Rizzo, who otherwise would have been on third base, would have scored on Nate Schierholtz’s subsequently shallow lineout to the strong-armed Ankiel in center field.

Gooden tweeted: “Love the way @MattHarvey33 bounced back after the 1st. Sign of a great pitcher in the making”

HIT, MAN: Davis snapped an 0-for-24 skid with a two-out single in the sixth against Jackson. Davis had struck out looking and grounded into a momentum-killing 4-6-3 double play earlier in the game. Davis’ skid was the longest by a Met this season. Josh Thole had an 0-for-30 streak in 2012.

WHAT’S NEXT: Mets right-hander Jeremy Hefner (0-4, 4.61 ERA) opposes righty Scott Feldman (3-3, 2.53) at 1:05 p.m. ET Saturday.

WHAT IT MEANS: They’ll frustrate you even when they win, but it beats the alternative.

Daniel Murphy reached base all five plate appearances and twice scored on David Wright hits and Jonathon Niese rebounded from a pair of dismal starts as the Mets snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

The Mets (15-23) avoided getting swept in a series of four or more games by the Cardinals for the first time since 1982.

They also avoided dropping 10 games under .500 at the earliest date since they were 12-23 on May 16, 1993. That year, Dallas Green replaced Jeff Torborg days later en route to a 59-103 record -- the last 100-loss season by the franchise.

DANNY BOY: Murphy went 4-for-4 with two doubles and also walked. He is now 11-for-his-last-17 since going hitless in the previous 17 at-bats.

Murphy’s third-inning double against Adam Wainwright scored Jordany Valdespin from first base and evened the score at 1.

Both times Murphy doubled, Wright followed by driving him in -- for the tiebreaking run in the third and then to give the Mets a 3-1 lead against Wainwright in the sixth.

The last Mets to reach base five times in a game without benefit of an error? That would be Mike Baxter (five walks) and Murphy (4-for-4, BB) last Aug. 4 at San Diego.

NIESELY DONE: After allowing a combined 15 runs in 8 1/3 innings in his previous two starts, Niese got back on track to earn his first win since April 12.

Niese’s teammates actually did more damage than the Cardinals. The lone run against the southpaw came when Rick Ankiel broke late on what was ruled a double by Pete Kozma into shallow right-center with two outs in the second inning. That scored Yadier Molina with the game’s opening run.

Niese logged 7 1/3 innings. He departed with his pitch count at 113 and a 5-1 lead after a one-out double by Matt Carpenter and walk to Shane Robinson. Brandon Lyon allowed an inherited runner to score on Carlos Beltran’s RBI single. Lyon then coaxed an inning-ending double play from Allen Craig.

CLOSE CALL: Bobby Parnell earned only his fourth 2013 save. He had not had an opportunity since May 1.

OH-NO: Ike Davis went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. He is hitless in his last 22 at-bats, with 10 strikeouts during that span.

NOT PRETTY: The Mets may have won, but that does not mean they played crisply. With runners on the corners and none out leading 4-1 in the seventh, Niese struck out bunting. Valdespin then bunted, and popped out in foul territory to Molina. After Murphy walked to load the bases, Wright lined out to second base to end the threat.

WHAT’S NEXT: Matt Harvey Day! Harvey (4-0, 1.44 ERA), the SI cover boy who has suffered four straight no-decisions despite stellar pitching, opposes Chicago Cubs right-hander Edwin Jackson in the 2:20 p.m. ET opener to a three-game weekend series Friday at Wrigley Field.

ST. LOUIS

FIRST PITCH: With their record having dropped to nine games under .500 this early in a season for the first time since 2001, the Mets send Jonathon Niese to the mound in a 1:45 p.m. ET series finale in St. Louis, trying to avoid getting swept in a four-game series.

Niese (2-4, 5.93 ERA) opposes Adam Wainwright (5-2, 2.30) in the Busch Stadium matinee.

Only one more day until Matt Harvey starts at Wrigley Field.

Thursday’s news reports:

• Shaun Marcum tossed 6 2/3 solid innings and Rick Ankiel produced a game-tying two-run homer, but the Mets allowed the decisive run to score on a wild pitch for the second time this season and lost to the Cardinals, 4-2, Wednesday. David Wright, whose drop while applying a tag led to an early unearned run, said the Mets are experiencing baseball’s “cruelness” right now. The Mets have lost six straight for a second time this season.

Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Times, Newsday, Star-Ledger and MLB.com.

• Zack Wheeler received a cortisone shot for inflammation in the AC joint in his right shoulder. He will rejoin Triple-A Las Vegas and miss only one start. The Daily News snapped a photo of Wheeler leaving the Hospital Special Surgery. (The Atlanta native is wearing a Falcons hat.) Read more in the Post, Newsday and Star-Ledger.

• Terry Collins regretted his word usage when he said he does not answer to the fans.

Sandy Alderson told Marc Carig in Newsday: "I think that he did misspeak. I think he's handled himself well under the circumstances. It's tough when you're losing games in bunches. I think he's shown considerable restraint."

On the Jordany Valdespin weekend incident that precipitated Collins’ comments, LaTroy Hawkins candidly tells Bob Nightengale in USA Today:

"What were we supposed to do there? We were down six runs, he hits a home run and he acts like it's a walk-off. This isn't Little League. What, now we're supposed to get into a fight for that? We're supposed to throw at somebody because he did a bonehead thing? Now, if they throw at him for no reason, that's a different story. We protect our team. But to do what he did put us in a bad spot, a real bad spot.

"He showed absolutely no respect. If you're going to pimp it, you're going to suffer the consequences. I have no problem defending my teammates, but some things, you just can't defend against. He's created a lot of unnecessary tension around here."

Read my take here.

Read more on Collins and Valdespin in Newsday, the Post, Record and Star-Ledger.

• At the owners’ meetings in Manhattan, Fred Wilpon declined to speak to reporters about the team. Writes columnist Ken Davidoff in the Post:

Another hellish week for the Mets. Good grief. Although in their defense, they hadn’t endured one of these since all the way back in ... April.

So what does their patriarch think of this? Mets chairman and CEO Fred Wilpon cheerfully entered Major League Baseball’s Manhattan headquarters yesterday morning, reporting to the quarterly owners’ meetings, and, amidst some small talk, declined comment. He deferred -- or deflected -- the line of questioning to general manager Sandy Alderson.

“We just spoke,” Wilpon said of Alderson.

• Tom Verducci at SI.com scrutinizes the Mets' unexceptional track record drafting pitchers.

• Niese worked on his mechanics between starts by watching himself in a mirror, writes Anthony DiComo at MLB.com.

• Cory Vaughn hit a grand slam as Binghamton beat Akron, 9-4. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Jared Diamond in the Journal investigates John Buck’s propensity to hit teammates, even below the belt, during postgame celebrations.

• From the bloggers … John Delcos at Mets Report looks into Collins’ damage control.

BIRTHDAYS: Reliever Jerrod Riggan, who was traded to the Cleveland Indians in the Roberto Alomar deal, turns 39.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

REPORT: #Mets parting ways with @snytv, will ink multi-year deal with @comedycentral.

— Will Beekman (@WillBeekman) May 16, 2013

YOU’RE UP: What do you think about LaTroy Hawkins’ comments regarding Jordany Valdespin admiring his homer?

ST. LOUIS -- Terry Collins struggled to find new analysis after the Mets suffered their sixth straight loss, 4-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night at Busch Stadium.

“It’s no secret. I mean, I don’t have a lot to say,” Collins said. “We beat this horse to death here all week. You’ve got to finish it. ... Outside of a few innings, we’ve been in every game in the last week. We just can’t finish them. We cannot get a big hit. We cannot get a big out. We cannot make a big play when we need to. It’s a combination of things that has just happened. And that’s what happens when you’re going bad. And we’re going bad. And we’re going to get out of it.

“We’re all frustrated. They’re frustrated. We’re trying to get them to relax and not put so much pressure on themselves. But they want to win. They want this to get over with. They want to put a smile on their face at the end of the game.”

Said David Wright: “The game is very cruel sometimes, and right now we’re experiencing kind of the cruelness of it. You get a quality start from your starter and there’s just so little room for error that a ball bounces one way, you don’t catch a break here, you don’t catch a break there, you end up losing the game because you have to play near-perfect when the offense is struggling the way it is right now.”

As for his level of concern, Wright added: “Well, we’re not playing good baseball. That’s easy to see. But it’s a resilient group. And you have to understand that we know there’s going to be tough times over the course of this season. We’re going through one right now. It’s not time to hold your heads down and mope around. We’ve got to find a way to compete, find ways to execute.

“You look across the field, it’s not necessarily the team with the best players that wins the most games. It’s the teams that execute, the teams that do the small things right.”

Speaking of those small things:

• On the seventh-inning wild pitch on a split-finger fastball from Scott Rice that produced the go-ahead run, Rice said: “I just cut it a little bit.”

• On the dropped tag between second and third base that prolonged the fourth inning and ultimately allowed a second run to score, Wright said: “I was trying to get to second, because we didn’t have anybody covering second. And [Jon Jay] just put the brakes on. When he stopped, obviously the ball just came flying out. I guess it hit something hard on him and the ball came kicking out. It’s just one of those crazy plays.”

• On John Buck getting doubled off second to end the second inning on Ruben Tejada’s lineout to Jay in center field, Buck said: “He hit it harder than I thought. I knew that they were shifted over. I knew it was toward him. I just didn’t think it was going to carry that far. We had the pitcher coming up. I was a little too aggressive.”

• On Buck caught stealing to end the fourth inning, Collins explained Cardinals starter Shelby Miller normally has a slow, 1.7-second delivery time. Buck tried to take advantage and steal a base like he did last homestand.

“He thought he had the guy read and [could] steal a run, as Yadier [Molina] does 25 times a summer, and just like John did the other day,” Collins said. “And the guy sped up his delivery and they got him.”

WHAT IT MEANS: Oops, they did it again.

Inheriting runners on the corners from Shaun Marcum with two outs in the seventh inning and the score tied, Scott Rice tossed a wild pitch that allowed Daniel Descalso to race home from third with the go-ahead run.

The Mets ultimately lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 Wednesday night at Busch Stadium, spoiling Marcum’s first solid outing as a Met and Rick Ankiel’s game-tying two-run homer.

Rice was making his 23rd appearance, tied for the major league lead.

It marked the second time this season a Mets game was decided by a run-scoring wild pitch. Brandon Lyon did the honors in Miami for a walk-off loss on April 30.

The Mets (14-23) now have a season-high six-game losing streak for the second time in 2013. They have lost 14 of 18 to drop nine games under .500 this early in a season for the first time since May 13, 2001, under Bobby Valentine (also 14-23).

Marcum (6.2 IP, 3 R, 2 ER) completed five innings for the first time as a Met -- he actually had his longest outing since last June 14 with the Milwaukee Brewers -- but nonetheless dropped to 0-4.

Ankiel had belted his first homer as a Met, a two-run shot in the top half of the seventh against Seth Maness, to even the score at 2. In 70 at-bats this season between the Mets and Houston Astros, Ankiel has six homers and 37 strikeouts.

OOPS, THE PREQUEL: Jon Jay’s two-out double to right-center in the fourth plated Matt Holliday with the game’s opening run.

Jay, apparently concerned about a potential play at the plate with Holliday, essentially gave himself up between second and third to deter the Mets from throwing home. That worked ... better than he could have expected. David Wright dropped the ball while applying a tag on Jay, and he successfully proceeded to third. After Wright's error, Jay scored an unearned run and gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead when Tony Cruz, getting a rare start over Yadier Molina, delivered a single.

Molina was heard from before the game ended. His pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth against LaTroy Hawkins gave St. Louis a two-run cushion.

WOE IS IKE: The Mets were shut down by Shelby Miller for 5 2/3 innings and Ike Davis twice failed to come through with runners in scoring position as the Mets were blanked until Ankiel’s blast.

Davis’ first-inning strikeout against Miller stranded Wright at second base. An inning later, John Buck was doubled off second base on Ruben Tejada’s lineout to center to end the half-inning. In the sixth, after Daniel Murphy doubled with one out and stole third, Wright struck out. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny then lifted Miller for left-hander Randy Choate, who coaxed an inning-ending groundout from Davis to preserve a 2-0 lead.

Miller tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings to shave his ERA to 1.40, tied with Clayton Kershaw and narrowly ahead of Matt Harvey (1.44) for tops in the National League.

WHAT’S NEXT: Jonathon Niese (2-4, 5.93 ERA) opposes right-hander Adam Wainwright (5-2, 2.30) in the 1:45 p.m. ET series finale Thursday as the Mets look to avoid a four-game sweep. The Cardinals last swept a series of four or more games from the Mets in September 1982 at Shea Stadium, when Keith Hernandez played for St. Louis.

WHAT IT MEANS: Rick Ankiel and the pitcher whose glove he borrowed played central roles as the Mets dropped a season-worst seven games under .500.

Ankiel, in his Mets debut, charged hard and lunged forward, but had pinch-hitter Ty Wigginton’s sinking liner pop out of the glove he borrowed from Scott Rice.

Wigginton, credited with a seventh-inning double, then scored when Matt Carpenter sent a comebacker at Rice. The shot struck the pitcher and ricocheted into foul territory. John Buck retrieved the baseball, leaving the plate vacant, and Wigginton scored the tiebreaking run from second base.

Scott Atchison served up a two-run homer to Matt Holliday later in the inning and the Mets lost, 6-3, to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night at Busch Stadium.

Although Jeremy Hefner received a no-decision, the Mets dropped to 0-7 in games he has started this season. They also fell to 0-8 the game following Matt Harvey’s start.

The seven straight losses in Hefner starts match the third-longest streak in franchise history for the Mets for one pitcher to open a season.

The Mets lost Anthony Young’s first 10 starts in 1993 (although that streak started in June, after he moved from the bullpen to the rotation). They lost the first eight starts by Randy Jones in 1981, and the first seven starts by Dave Mlicki in 1997 and Wally Whitehurst in 1992.

DEBUTANT: Ankiel walked in his first plate appearance as a Met and finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He now has K’d in 37 of 65 at-bats this season.

SILENT NIGHT: In seven innings against Lance Lynn and the remainder against the bullpen, the Mets mustered only four hits -- three from Daniel Murphy, who had snapped an 0-for-17 skid Sunday.

The Mets (14-21) really were gifted their three runs because of unusually shaky Cardinals fielding. Ex-Met Carlos Beltran, now ranged-challenged and playing right field, misplayed Murphy’s line drive into a two-run double. Murphy then scored from second on a tapper by David Wright just past the pitcher’s mound that was ruled an infield single as the Mets took a short-lived 3-2 lead in the second.

The Mets did walk five times, getting Lynn’s pinch count to 124. But they mustered only one hit after the second inning.

START OF SOMETHING: Hefner retired the final 10 Cardinals he faced and did not allow a hit after a second-inning RBI single by Carpenter that evened the score at 3. Hefner, although he remained winless, finished with a decent line: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. He threw 97 pitches (58 strikes).

WHAT’S NEXT: Dillon Gee (2-4, 5.55 ERA) opposes John Gast in the southpaw’s major league debut Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Jordany Valdespin received payback for too much admiring of an inconsequential homer in Friday’s loss to Pittsburgh. A day later, when Valdespin pinch-hit in the seventh Saturday, he was drilled in the right forearm by reliever Bryan Morris.

Valdespin declined through a team spokesman to speak afterward, but his teammates spoke in-depth. The summary: Valdespin asked for the retaliation with his initial action, but the Mets do have his back.

“You’ve got guys that support him, and guys obviously are trying to help him,” David Wright said. “He’s young. He has a lot of flair about him. That’s his personality. And he doesn’t need to change the person that he is. I think toning some of it down might be appropriate. But he gets excited. He hits a home run and it’s exciting. Sometimes your natural reaction is to be excited about that.

“His way of showing that he’s excited might be different than mine or a lot of other people’s. Sometimes there’s criticism that’s fair. And a lot of times there’s also a lot of criticism that’s unfair, because he has a history of doing some things. We, in here, obviously try to help him.”

Valdespin, upon returning to the dugout after the half-inning Saturday, threw his batting helmet and stormed up the tunnel toward the clubhouse. Fellow Mets insisted that was not Valdespin getting upset with a lack of support from teammates.

“No, I think he was mad because he got hit by a 94 mph fastball in the forearm. That hurts,” Wright said. “I’ve been there before. He knows that we support him. Obviously, we can’t make him run any faster down to first base after home runs, but we can try to not necessarily teach him, but [advise him] that rubs some people the wrong way. And obviously it rubbed the Pirates the wrong way.”

Said Ike Davis: “We were getting beat pretty bad and he hit a home run and kind of watched it maybe a little too long. That is baseball. People, you see it all the time, hit a home run and just watch it. Some people take offense to it and some people don’t. … Obviously they didn’t like it, so they retaliated.”

Should Terry Collins have avoided Valdespin hitting against the Pirates?

The manager said a plate appearance could not have been delayed forever. And, Collins noted, he wanted to get Wright out of the lopsided game without using Mike Baxter as the pinch-hitter in the half-inning and burning two bench players. So Valdespin pinch-hit instead of Baxter, stayed in the game at second base and Justin Turner moved over to third.

“He was aware of what might happen,” Collins said about getting plunked. “If you play this game long enough, you’re not naïve about what’s going on. They threw at him. I knew they might. It’s part of the game. You’ve got to go up there and do what he did. I respect him the way he went and handled it. He went to first.

“I want to close the book on Jordany Valdespin,” the manager continued. “He’s an emotional kid. He’s an emotional player. He plays with a little excitement, a little flair. Once in a while somebody is going to be disturbed by it. In our game, there are times when the other team, if they don’t like something, they’re going to do something about it. But you’ve got to put him in there. Sooner or later he’s got to play. I mean, you can’t keep avoiding the issue.”

Collins did not mind the location of the purpose pitch.

“I would have been very, very bothered had it been somewhere up in the neck area,” Collins said.

Wright said he never was concerned he, rather than Valdespin, would become the target of the retaliation.

“I wasn’t even thinking about that,” the captain said. “I figured if they had an issue with Jordany that they’d take it up with Jordany. We’d do the same thing. If we felt like somebody on the other team showed one of our guys up, I’m sure we would act accordingly, not go after somebody else.”

Wright, summing things up, said: “You have guys that care about Valdy and are always pulling him aside. And he will pull guys aside and ask questions and things. I think he gets somewhat of a bad rap, sometimes unfairly. He’s obviously made some mistakes in the past.”

Terry Collins has used five different cleanup hitters this season. He has used seven different No. 5 hitters.

Now, the manager has concluded, enough is enough. The run producers will be going back to their designed spots, with limited tinkering.

David Wright remains in the No. 3 hole. Ike Davis will get a regular role as the cleanup hitter, where he has not started since April 19. Lucas Duda will go back where he belongs too, according to Collins, which seems like the No. 5 spot.

“You know what? We’ve got some run producers on this team. They’re going to start hitting where they belong to hit,” Collins said after the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Mets, 11-2, Saturday at Citi Field. “That’s where they’re supposed to hit.

“You work hard trying to put the best lineup out there, to put them in the right spots. And when I’m sitting there looking at it today -- and my guys are great, my players are tremendous, they’re great guys -- but … I’m sitting there today thinking it’s enough trying to over-manage this. Let the players play. So I’m going to turn them loose tomorrow and let them go play and hit in the spots they should be hitting.”

The Mets went 1-for-6 Saturday with runners in scoring position and are now hitting .186 (21-for-113) in those situations during their past 17 games. They tied a season high with 16 strikeouts in Saturday’s loss. It marked only the fifth time in franchise history they had struck out that many times in a nine-inning game.

In fact, the lack of success left Davis and Wright walking a tightrope about how much to criticize the organization’s hitting philosophy.

“We want to be selective,” Davis said. “We want to work the count and get the starters out of the game early. But, like today, the guy was pumping strikes -- and we kind of can’t wait for him to get out of the game. We’ve got to knock him out of the game. When guys are on their game and really filling the [strike] zone up, we’ve got to maybe make the adjustments and start swinging earlier.

“All the teams know coming in that we’re trying to work counts and get walks and see pitches. They know that coming in. Obviously they try to throw strikes early in the count. So then we’re hitting with two strikes. It’s tough to do that.”

Said Wright on that topic: “Yeah, I think it’s important that we’re aggressive. If we can get good pitches to hit early in the count, we need to jump on those. It’s well-documented the approach that we’re trying to do here. But it’s counterproductive if you go up there and start 0-1, 0-2. And maybe the book’s out of what we’re trying to do.

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Terry Collins could see the Pirates retaliating against Jordany Valdespin for his admiration of his ninth-inning homer Friday, but the manager doesn't think Pittsburgh would go after David Wright.

"I think every situation is different. I don't think you retaliate on David Wright," Collins said. "You don't take it out on David Wright. Now will they throw at [Valdespin]? I have no idea. Fifteen years ago the answer would have been yes. I can't say that's going to happen in today's game. They won the game. I'm sure it's over with. But, you know, a lot of teams have long memories."

Asked if Valdespin should have been encouraged in the minors to keep antics that antagonize the other team in check, Collins said: "Believe me, we've talked to Jordany about a lot of things. Players who have -- I call it flair, players who play with flair, once in a while they're going to do something that annoys you. And if it bothers you enough and you're on the opposing team, you might do something. But, you know what? We addressed it. We addressed it again.

"And I tell some players once in a while, or coaches: 'You don't like it? Don't watch it. Watch somebody else.'"

WRIGHT STUFF: On Wright being in the lineup a day after fouling a ball off the inside of his left knee and departing on a double-switch for the final inning Friday, Collins said: "I'm sure he's stiff today. You don't foul it off like that off the inside of your knee without being stiff today. When I took him out last night, I told him, 'Just get some ice on it.' But he said, 'Look, I can finish.' So I'm sure he'll be stiff, but he plays through a lot. So he'll be OK."

ONE-HIT WONDERS: Matt Harvey recently tossed nine scoreless innings, allowing only an infield single against the Chicago White Sox. And on Friday night, St. Louis' Shelby Miller and Boston's Jon Lester each tossed walk-free one-hit shutouts.

"I just know you don't have a lot of the guys who really walk up with a definite two-strike approach anymore," Collins said about the pitchers' dominance. "... The power is so dominant now that everybody has got longer swings. So you can see, when you're locating, that's when the strikeouts are going to come. But I'm not surprised at what I'm seeing. The arms today are so much better. There's so many more guys that throw hard and have 'plus' stuff today than there was 15 years ago. I think that's why you're seeing such a dominance in some strikeouts and pitching."

Miller opposes Shaun Marcum on Wednesday at Busch Stadium.

DOUBLE TROUBLE? While the tarp is on the field 90 minutes before Saturday's first pitch at Citi Field, it is not currently raining. If the game were rained out, Collins said a doubleheader would be scheduled for Sunday.

VIEWING PARTY: Among the extra eyes watching Zack Wheeler's start tonight in Las Vegas: roving Mets instructor Guy Conti, who will provide feedback on the performance to the major league staff.

FIRST PITCH: Banner Day, the revived annual tradition, comes to Citi Field before today’s game on what is forecast to be a rainy day in Flushing.

Edgardo Alfonzo, Kevin Burkhardt and 92.3 NOW morning-show host Ty Bentli will serve as judges.

Weather-permitting at 1:10 p.m., Jonathon Niese (2-3, 4.66 ERA) opposes left-hander Francisco Liriano, who is making his Pittsburgh Pirates debut after fracturing the humerus bone in his non-pitching arm on Christmas Day. Niese recently has been dealing with a back issue.

All eyes will be on the minors, too. Zack Wheeler tries to post a third straight solid start for Triple-A Las Vegas when he faces Albuquerque at 10:05 p.m. ET.

Terry Collins, by the way, says it’s the front office’s call -- not his -- about when the top prospect is promoted. (The front office is undoubtedly cognizant of not wanting to give Wheeler an extra year of arbitration, so the call-up may very well wait until June.)

Jenrry Mejia’s road back to the majors also continues today. Mejia, shut down in spring training with forearm tendinitis, starts for Class A St. Lucie.

Saturday’s news reports:

• Shaun Marcum failed to complete five innings for the third straight start. The ex-Brewer was charged with six runs in 4 2/3 innings as the Mets lost to the Pirates, 7-3, Friday night. Marcum also took a liner off his left thumb. X-rays were negative.

“When you look at what happened to him in spring training, with the extent of his injuries, he’s a command guy,” Collins said. “His sinker is his big pitch, and changeup. He has to pitch to both sides of the plate. And I think he’s just still in the mode of getting himself right.”

Said David Wright about the team’s continued hitting woes after the Mets went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position Friday: “I think guys are pressing probably a little bit, and rightfully so. Everybody wants to be that guy that gets that big hit to break the spell. But in doing so you put a little too much pressure on yourself sometimes.”

Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Star-Ledger, Times, Record, Newsday, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Journal and MLB.com.

• Wright fouled a ball off the inside of his left knee. He hopes to be available to play today. Read more at MLB.com.

• Jeurys Familia is suffering from biceps tenditinis. That may prompt the Mets to activate Frank Francisco without another minor league appearance, with Familia potentially landing on the disabled list.

• On the timetable for Wheeler’s promotion, Anthony McCarron writes in the Daily News:

So here’s hoping, for their own sake, the Mets judge Wheeler’s next few weeks wisely. They can’t react to the lethargic crowds at Citi Field -- there was an announced attendance of 25,123 Friday, and the Mets started the day ninth in the NL in attendance -- by sending for Wheeler. Night after night, regardless of a few Mike Baxter walk-offs, some decent relief showings and Matt Harvey’s magic, we’re learning how difficult this season is likely to be for the Mets.

They don’t score much anymore, as Collins noted when he said, “We aren’t giving them much room to wiggle, on the mound.” They have outfield issues and they need to fix Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada. They are 4-9 in their last 13 games.

In other words, what’s the rush? Wheeler may help save the Mets, but that really feels like a 2014 narrative, not one from this season.

Columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post says Wheeler "can't get here fast enough."

• Jordany Valdespin admired his solo homer in the ninth. Collins said there is nothing he can do about it anymore. Meanwhile, as Mother’s Day approaches, Anthony DiComo at MLB.com writes that Valdespin’s major league earnings have allowed him to tell his mother to quit working as a housemaid in their native Dominican Republic.

• Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post suggests the Mets may be approaching the point at which they have to decide whether Davis or Lucas Duda plays first base … and trade the other.

• Read more on Liriano joining the Pirates in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

• Darrell Ceciliani went 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs as Binghamton responded a day later to getting no-hit with a rain-shortened 8-4 win against Harrisburg. St. Lucie starter Domingo Tapia landed on the DL after burning his non-pitching hand. Beck Wheeler suffered the loss in relief as Rome beat Savannah, 3-2. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Jorge Arangure in the Times and Mike Vorkunov in the Star-Ledger write about Mike Baxter’s success as a pinch hitter -- and his attacking approach as compared with his patience as a starter. Baxter, unused Friday, is 5-for-9 as a pinch hitter this season and produced his first two walk-off hits this week.

• Justin Turner started over slumping Daniel Murphy at second base Friday. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• From the bloggers … John Delcos at Mets Report suggests the Mets should not think about signing arbitration-eligible Ike Davis to a multiyear deal. … Faith and Fear in Flushing frets over what to do when you can't get 3G or 4G but you want to know what's up with Dillon Gee. … Metsmerized points out the uncanny similarities between Matt Harvey and Tom Seaver and suggests younger fans can now feel what it must have been like when Seaver first came up.

BIRTHDAYS: Right-hander Walt Terrell, whose Dec. 7, 1984 trade to the Detroit Tigers brought Howard Johnson to Flushing, turns 55.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

You don't have to guess at Jordany Valdespin's twitter handle. twitter.com/Jay_HorwitzPR/…

— Jay Horwitz (@Jay_HorwitzPR) May 10, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Even if he is not the closer, can Frank Francisco be useful to the Mets?

The inside of David Wright’s left knee is “pretty sore,” manager Terry Collins said, although the third baseman downplayed the injury and is eyeing starting Saturday’s matinee.

Wright fouled a ball off the inside of the knee in his first-inning at-bat. He went 2-for-4 and was pulled on a double-switch after grounding into a double play to end the eighth with the Mets trailing by five runs. The Mets eventually lost, 7-3.

“It’s pretty sore, but he thought he could play,” Collins said. “Toward the end, when he made the last out, I just said, ‘Go get some ice on it. We’re coming back in 14 hours. So get yourself ready for tomorrow.’”

Said Wright: “He just double-switched for me. That’s that. He’s the manager. He says when to play and when not to play. I got down to first, and they double-switched for me.”

Asked if he had concerns about being able to play Saturday afternoon, Wright said: “I don’t think so. I felt progressively better as the game went on. The more I moved around, the better it felt. So I’m sure it will swell up a little bit, but I’ll be fine.”

WHAT IT MEANS: The only real dilemma ought to be which pitcher Zack Wheeler replaces in the rotation.

Shaun Marcum became the first pitcher in franchise history to fail to complete five innings in each of his first three starts as a Met as the Amazin’s lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-3, Friday night at Citi Field.

Marcum (0-3) watched his ERA rise to 8.59 after surrendering six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

He allowed five straight Pirates to reach base to open a three-run second inning. He then allowed a replay-awarded three-run homer to Garrett Jones in the fifth that gave the Pirates a 6-0 lead. Marcum surrendered nine hits and plunked two batters before being replaced by Robert Carson.

Marcum took a line drive off his left wrist off the bat of Wandy Rodriguez in the second inning, and twice was visited by trainer Ray Ramirez during the frame.

Later in the second, shortstop Ruben Tejada's double-clutch on a makeable play on Starling Marte's grounder resulted in a late throw to first base. Instead of the final out, the infield single plated Pittsburgh’s third run.

SILENT NIGHT: The Mets had another quiet night at the plate, with the lone damage through eight innings coming on Anthony Recker’s solo homer in the fifth against Rodriguez. It was Recker’s first homer as a Met.

In the fourth, David Wright had produced a leadoff double. He was stranded as Lucas Duda grounded out to first base, Marlon Byrd popped out to first base and Ike Davis popped out to third base.

Wright again was stranded in scoring position in the sixth after a leadoff single.

The Mets finally scored a pair of runs in the ninth against Jose Contreras, prompting manager Clint Hurdle to insert closer Jason Grilli with two on and two out in the ninth.

WHAT’S NEXT: On Banner Day at Citi Field, the Mets send Jonathon Niese (2-3, 4.66 ERA) to the mound opposite left-hander Francisco Liriano. Liriano will be making his Pirates debut after opening the season on the DL with a broken humerus bone in his non-throwing arm.

Wheeler, by the way, starts for Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday night opposite ex-Met Aaron Laffey of the Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers).

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

That sums up the two-game series between the Mets and the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field.

On Tuesday, Matt Harvey made the next step on his ascent to superstardom, nearly pitching a perfect game. On Wednesday, without Harvey propping them up, the Mets fell back to earth, losing 6-3 to the last-place ChiSox.

The Mets are now 0-7 in games after Harvey starts. And Jeremy Hefner is 0-4, after allowing four runs on eight hits in six innings of work.

“I’m tired of losing,” Hefner said. “It’s frustrating. I need to get better, and I need to make better pitches.”

But this loss wasn’t Hefner’s fault. Yes, he gave up a home run to the first batter of the game, Alejando De Aza. But the White Sox were very fortunate to score three runs off Hefner in the third inning. Three of their four hits in the frame were soft -- a bunt single, an infield single, and a shallow fly to center that found a patch of green in between three defenders.

“I thought Jeremy was pitching OK,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “We just couldn’t catch back up.”

Therein lies the real problem with this team. A night after they couldn’t even deliver one run in regulation so Harvey would receive a much-deserved win, the Mets posted just one run on three hits off Chicago starter Jake Peavy. They tacked on two more -- one unearned -- against the White Sox bullpen, but it still was yet another underwhelming performance.

The Mets have now scored just 11 runs over their last six home games, batting .171 (32-for-187) during that span.

“I don’t know,” Collins said, when asked if his team is pressing. “Whether we are or not, it just looks like it. We certainly gotta relax and put better swings on the ball.”

It was a night to forget for the Mets’ best hitters. David Wright was hitless, although he did walk twice. Lucas Duda hit a solo homer but also struck out three times. Daniel Murphy was 0-for-4, as was John Buck and Ike Davis.

“When you start struggling a little bit, you start trying to do a little bit too much,” Justin Turner said. “And you just gotta find a way to keep it simple, take a good at-bat, and let the results take care of themselves.”

Turner, ironically, is the only Mets hitter you could consider “hot” right now. After singling in both of his plate appearances Wednesday after entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning, he is now batting .372 on the season (in 43 at-bats).

Turner played the outfield, in left, for the first time in his big-league career in the ninth inning. But don’t expect to see him starting out there anytime soon.

“We’ve already experienced enough guys playing out of position up here that has hurt us in the long run,” Collins said. “To ask Justin Turner to go play left field when he’s never played the outfield in his life -- to start a game, or to play there on a consistent basis, that’s a lot to ask, in my opinion.”

Instead, the Mets will count upon the other guys to turn it around. But can they?

Wright’s a proven commodity, and Murphy will at least hit for average.

But Duda still has plenty to prove, and is 2-for-16 in May, dropping him to .239. Buck remains among the league leaders in home runs (10) and RBIs (29), but his average is down to .236 after three hitless games in a row.

And Davis? Well, he has plummeted to .170. So much for avoiding another slow start. His average is almost identical to what it was on this date one year ago (.167).

“Everyone in here is a competitor, everyone wants to have success. So when you struggle a little bit, you want to fix it right away, you want to get out of it and you try harder,” Turner said. “But if we’re gonna have one of these little skids, it’s better to have it now, early in the year, than have it say in August or September.”

True -- except the Mets aren’t likely to be relevant in the standings by August or September.

The bottom line? Every fifth day, when Matt Harvey's on the mound, the Mets are going to be worth watching, and have a great chance to win.

But on the other four days? They’re facing an uphill climb.

Tuesday was a night to remember. But this season isn’t headed for a happy ending.

FIRST PITCH: Matt Harvey, pitching with three days of extra rest, aims to go to 5-0 when he faces Robin Ventura and Joe McEwing’s Chicago White Sox at Citi Field tonight at 7:10.

From ESPN Stats & Information:

Harvey has allowed more than one run in only one of his past eight starts, dating to last season. His only prior interleague start was eight innings of two-hit ball against the Minnesota Twins on April 13.

Ventura played only three seasons for the Mets (1999-2001), but made quite an impact. David Wright, Dave Kingman and Ventura share the club record for the most six-RBI games in Mets history with three. Ventura also hit five grand slams with the Mets, one shy of Mike Piazza’s club record.

Of course, that does not include Ventura’s “grand-slam single” in the 15th inning of Game 5 of the 1999 National League Championship Series against the Braves to cap an epic comeback win.

The White Sox are actually playing the Mets in New York for the first time.

Harvey opposes Newark's Hector Santiago tonight. Harvey originally was supposed to line up to face fellow 2010 first-round pick Chris Sale, but Sale's start moved up a day to Monday in K.C. after Jake Peavy needed to be delayed due to back spasms.

Tuesday’s news reports:

• Harvey last pitched last Monday in Miami. He is unconcerned about the extra rest as well as logging a career-high 121 pitches against the Marlins. His last offering in Miami registered 96 mph. "I feel like I can go out there 120, 130 pitches each time and my body can handle it," Harvey said. (Terry Collins said that pitch count will not be the norm.) Writes Jared Diamond in the Journal:

Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander led baseball with six complete games last season and still averaged only 114.2 pitches per start. No other pitcher even averaged 110. Harvey is averaging 104.5 so far this year.

Last season, the Mets curtailed Harvey's season after 169 1/3 innings between the majors and minors. They say they won't limit him this season, but their actions suggest they remain at least somewhat concerned about their phenom's workload.

After Harvey's 121-pitch outing last week, the Mets planned to give him an extra day of rest so he could recover. Harvey said he didn't need it and wanted to start on his regular rotation.

Read more in the Star-Ledger and Newsday.

• In his past two starts with Triple-A Las Vegas, Zack Wheeler has limited opponents to one run, eight hits and two walks while striking out 12 in 12 innings.

“Outstanding -- the best he’s pitched all year,” 51s manager Wally Backman told Mike Puma in the Post. “He’s turning the corner. That is what we have seen the last two starts. If we see that a couple of more starts, he’s going to be pushing the door open himself, forcing the issue for sure. … He’s showed excellent command the last couple of starts. Before he was missing up and out of the strike zone, arm side, all the time and [Sunday] he never missed one time up and out of the zone arm side.”

• Sandy Alderson tells Kristie Ackert in the Daily News about Ike Davis: “I don't think he's happy with what has happened to date. We would have hoped for a better performance to this point, but the evidence is he can do it. And he could do that again this season. We'll see what transpires. But Ike is a big part of the team. We expect him to come around soon.”

Read more on Davis’ slow start in the Post.

• 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo was batting .414 for low-A Savannah through April 23. He now is in an 0-for-20 rut with the Gnats and actually has not played since April 29 because of a hand injury.

"We want him to go through this," Savannah manager Luis Rojas told Clint Robus in Newsday. "This is part of his development, and this is the part where he's going to ... figure out a lot more things."

Said Nimmo about the slump: "I knew this was going to happen. So I'm not too surprised."

• Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post notes there is one player from the Johan Santana swap with the Twins that is contributing big time. That is Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez, who leads the NL with a .368 average. Gomez along with Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra went to Minnesota on Feb. 2, 2008 for Santana.

• Wright had six steals in April -- on pace for a 30-steal season. He had one 30-30 season in his career -- in 2007. "When the situation presents itself, I feel like I have the ability to take a base here and there," he told Mike Kerwick in the Record. "But I’m not going to steal bases for the sake of trying to get a certain [number of] bases or for the sake of doing it. I’m going to do it for a reason."

• St. Lucie right-hander Hansel Robles returned from an upper-back injury to limit Daytona to one run in five innings in a 6-2 win Monday. Frank Francisco pitched for the second straight day for the Florida State League club, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning. Read the full minor league recap here.

• It’s a safe bet Bobby Parnell will not lose his closer’s job once Francisco is activated from the disabled list. Read a profile of Parnell’s adaption to that role from Anthony DiComo at MLB.com.

• The Mets’ Saturday postponement in Atlanta will be made up on June 18 as part of a split doubleheader at Turner Field. It now becomes a five-game series against the Braves.

• Edgardo Alfonzo, Kevin Burkhardt and 92.3 Now's Ty Bentli will judge Saturday’s Banner Day at Citi Field.

• From the bloggers … Blogging Mets checks in to see how several ex-Mets are doing with their new teams so far this season.

BIRTHDAYS: Brook Fordyce, who was drafted by the Mets in the third round out of high school in Connecticut in 1989 and made his major league debut with the club six years later, is 43.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

What an awesome night! #NYRBelieve

— Matt Harvey (@MattHarvey33) May 7, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Where does Robin Ventura factor in among your favorite Mets of all time?