ESPN

CHICAGO

FIRST PITCH: Matt Harvey Day has arrived.

Harvey, who has suffered four straight no-decisions despite producing a 1.98 ERA during that span, aims for his first win since his April 19 duel with Stephen Strasburg. He opposes Chicago Cubs right-hander Edwin Jackson (1-5, 6.02 ERA) today at 2:20 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field.

Harvey’s 1.44 ERA currently ranks third in the National League, trailing the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw and Cardinals’ Shelby Miller (both 1.40).

Read the Mets-Cubs series preview here.

Friday’s news reports:

• Jonathon Niese rediscovered his mechanics and pitched into the eighth inning, Daniel Murphy reached base five times and the Mets snapped a six-game losing streak with a series-salvaging 5-2 win against the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Niese’s fastball averaged 90 mph and topped out at 93 mph.

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

• Ike Davis is 0-for-his-last-22, but Terry Collins says he will stick with the first baseman in the cleanup spot against a pair of Cubs right-handers. There is no promise beyond that about the batting order, although Marc Carig in Newsday writes:

The team has yet to enter into serious discussions about sending Davis down, according to people familiar with the team's thinking, believing that he earned a pass with his torrid second half a year ago.

Davis went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts Thursday. Writes Michael Salfino in the Journal:

If this all sounds familiar, it is because it is, eerily so. Last season, through May 16, Davis's numbers were almost exactly the same -- a .167 batting average, .222 on-base percentage and .310 slugging percentage. His on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) on May 16 the past two seasons: .532 last season and .516. That makes the 26-year-old Davis the only regular first baseman since at least 1921 with an OPS under .540 through the season's first 38 games in back-to-back seasons, according to Stats LLC.

Last season, Davis rewarded the Mets' faith. From May 17 onward, he posted a .247/.334/.511 line. Davis's .846 OPS from that date forward led the team and ranked sixth among all major-league first basemen (minimum 390 at-bats). …

Only two other regulars in Mets history have posted an OPS below .540 in back-to-back seasons through 38 games: Rey Ordonez (.535 in 1997, .459 in 1998) and Doug Flynn (.457 in 1979, .511 in 1980). But those two players were Gold Glove-winning middle infielders -- not first baseman who are expected to provide pop.

Read more on Davis in the Star-Ledger, Daily News and MLB.com.

• Jordany Valdespin apologized to “several” teammates Thursday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted. Valdespin nonetheless had an ill-advised bunt attempt in the seventh inning.

• Columnist Bob Klapisch in the Record suggests Wally Backman could not win with the current Mets roster. Writes Klapsich, referring to Collins’ fans comment earlier in the week:

Collins should’ve known better than to give the Wilpons an opening like that. No matter what ownership says to the contrary, they’ll need a fall guy if the Mets are doomed to play .400 ball the rest of the summer. What better candidate than someone who rips the saps who still actually pay to see the Mets?

But that’s not saying Collins deserves to be canned. Given a pass for this week’s misstep, he’s had a better year than most of his remarkably awful lineup. There’s plenty of talk, generated mostly by rogue fans, about Wally Backman arriving mid-summer to shake things up. Admittedly, it’s a seductive story line: Backman and his tightly wound clock is just the medicine these sorry Mets need. Right?

Not really. Backman would face the same obstacles that currently handcuff Collins: a nonproductive outfield, a bullpen that ranked last in the majors in almost category in May, not to mention the regression of key players such as Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy and even Niese.

Klapisch also quotes a league official about the addition of Rick Ankiel saying: “That tells me [the Mets] really have no plan, they’re just going from crisis to crisis. What can Ankiel give them? I’m sorry, you just don’t belong in the big leagues when you’re striking out [35 times in 62 at-bats before being released by the Astros last week]. You have to try to be that bad.”

• Kirk Nieuwenhuis struck out with the bases loaded in the ninth and Omaha beat Las Vegas, 5-4. Noah Syndergaard limited Brevard County to two runs in 6 2/3 innings and struck out 10, but the Manatees beat St. Lucie, 4-3. Rainy Lara tossed eight scoreless innings and Savannah beat Augusta, 6-0 in 11 innings. Jenrry Mejia starts for St. Lucie tonight. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Travis d'Arnaud is due to be examined today in New York, four weeks after fracturing his left foot. The expectation is d'Arnaud will be cleared to shed a protective boot and begin weight-bearing activity.

• Frank Francisco (elbow) has passed the 72-hour window and may be able to resume throwing.

• Bob Raissman in the Daily News suggests Mets ratings are nosediving on SNY. Word is they had a sub-1.0 rating one game this week, a startling number for New York baseball, albeit with competition from the Knicks and Rangers. Writes Raissman:

The Mets on SNY are averaging a household rating of 1.91, down 22 percent from the same point in 2012. Among men 25-54, the key demographic, the Mets are averaging a 1.05 rating, down 15 percent from 2012.

That’s not good (duh). Some wins would help push these anemic ratings higher. When the Mets eventually bring Zack Wheeler to Citi Field he, like Harvey, should juice the ratings. Short of that, the idea is to at least stay relevant by any means necessary. The Mets managed to get five days of media juice out of this Valdespin thing, which really stretched the meaning of controversy.

• Baseball America reports the Mets are showing strong interest in teenage Venezuelan catcher Ali Sanchez ahead of the international free agent signing period, which begins July 2. He is projected to command slightly less than the $800,000 the Mets gave fellow Venezuelan catcher Jose Garcia two years ago. Writes BA’s Ben Badler:

Sanchez is a 16-year-old right-handed hitter who trains with Yhonson Lopez, has gone to the Dominican Republic to play in the International Prospect League and has emerged as one of the top catching prospects in Latin America behind Herrera. At 6 feet, 180 pounds, Sanchez is a good defender who receives well and has a decent arm that plays up because of his quick transfer and accuracy. At the plate, Sanchez doesn’t have a lot of power now and scouts were mixed on his bat, but some scouts think he has a chance to be a solid hitter with a contact-oriented swing.

• Ankiel said he would not consider stepping on the mound if the Mets needed to use a position player to complete a lopsided game. "No," Ankiel told Mike Kerwick in the Record, "‘cause if I ever did that and I got hurt, I’d never forgive myself."

• From the bloggers … Faith and Fear in Flushing contains its enthusiasm.

BIRTHDAYS: Dick Smith, a first baseman and outfielder on the ’63 and ’64 Mets, was born on this date in 1939.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Covering the Yankees, I write the word "injury" almost as often as I wrote the word "Picard" when covering the Mets.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughSL) May 17, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Who is the best choice to start at first base: Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Josh Satin, Andrew Brown or Zach Lutz?

OMAHA 5, LAS VEGAS 4: Andrew Brown tripled and scored on Wilmer Flores' groundout to open the ninth, but the 51s ultimately stranded the bases loaded as Donnie Joseph struck out Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Omaha had taken a 5-3 lead in the eighth on run-scoring groundout against Josh Edgin in the southpaw's Pacific Coast League debut after a promotion from Binghamton. Starter D.J. Mitchell (1-1) surrendered four runs on 10 hits and a walk in five innings as his ERA swelled to 6.75. Eric Campbell went 3-for-3 with two RBIs in the loss. Flores also had two RBIs for the 51s (18-20). Box

BREVARD COUNTY 4, ST. LUCIE 3: T.J. Mittelstaedt had a walk-off RBI double in the ninth against T.J. Chism. The Mets (23-15) dropped three of four games in the series. Noah Syndergaard received a no-decision despite striking out a season-high 10 batters in 6 2/3 innings while walking none. He allowed seven hits and two runs. Throw out an April 18 start in which Syndergaard allowed seven runs in three innings and he otherwise has a 1.30 ERA in seven starts. Cameron Garfield's two-run triple in the sixth tied the score at 2 against Syndergaard. Rylan Sandoval had a bases-loaded two-run single in the top half of that inning. Hamilton Bennett pitched a scoreless relief inning and had three strikeouts. Randy Fontanez suffered the loss. He allowed one hit and struck out two in an inning. Chism came on in relief with a runner at second and two outs in the ninth before allowing the game-winning hit. Jenrry Mejia will make the start on a major league rehab assignment for the Mets as Friday's starter at Bradenton. Box

SAVANNAH 6, AUGUSTA 0 (11 innings): The Gnats ended a scoreless duel with six runs in the 11th, highlighted by a pinch-hit two-run single from Maikis De La Cruz. A pair of throwing errors by Augusta third baseman Mitchell Delfino resulted in four unearned runs. Starter Rainy Lara surrendered only two hits and a walk in eight innings. He combined with Bret Mitchell (1-1) and Beck Wheeler on the four-hit shutout. Lara retired the final 11 batters he faced and shaved his ERA to 1.17, which ranks second in the South Atlantic League. Box

Compiled from team reports

ST. LOUIS

FIRST PITCH: Less Cowgill. More Ankiel?

Desperate for outfield production, the Mets signed strikeout-prone Rick Ankiel and will use him in a center-field platoon with Juan Lagares. Ankiel debuted last night at Busch Stadium, going 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.

The signing seemed to be met by widespread dismay from Mets fans.

And this is not a slam at Ankiel.

The question becomes: If the Mets are not going to be a playoff team this season -- and who seriously thinks they are -- why not just experiment with young players? Get them experience for when the Mets again are relevant.

It doesn’t even matter which young player -- Lagares … Kirk Nieuwenhuis … Jordany Valdespin … anyone.

The Mets will counter that line of thinking by saying that Ankiel is a placeholder. And if they had someone ready to step in, they would be up, which is an indictment in itself.

Let’s not kid ourselves. The Mets, no matter the GM, have a tradition of trying to squeeze out a few wins in meaningless seasons by using the veteran at the expense of a young person playing, which leaves the prospect less prepared to contribute to brighter days.

It happened pre-Sandy Alderson, too.

Remember when Hisanori Takahashi was compiling saves late in the 2010 season after K-Rod’s family meltdown at Citi Field?

All that did was deprive Bobby Parnell of some closing experience back then and set up Takahashi for a two-year, $8 million deal that offseason as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels.

Lagares, by the way, does start Tuesday. Dillon Gee (2-4, 5.55 ERA) will face left-hander John Gast in the southpaw’s major league debut at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Tuesday’s news reports:

• Having borrowed a glove from Jonathon Niese because his had yet to find its way from Houston, Ankiel dropped a sinking liner off the bat of Ty Wigginton in the seventh inning Monday night. Wigginton eventually scored the deciding run when the Mets failed to cover home plate and the Cardinals won, 6-3, at Busch Stadium. Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Star-Ledger, Newsday, Record, Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and MLB.com.

• The Mets optioned Andrew Brown to Las Vegas and moved Jenrry Mejia to the 60-day DL in order to clear a spot for Ankiel. Mejia will continue to pitch in the minors uninterrupted. Until early June, though, he will not count against the 40-man roster. Read more on Ankiel’s signing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Star-Ledger.

• Scott Atchison, who served up a two-run homer to Matt Holliday that capped Monday’s scoring, is dealing with numbness in his fingers related to a torn elbow ligament discovered last year. Atchison passed on Tommy John surgery in 2012 while with the Boston Red Sox. He hopes the tingling sensation goes away with rest this time, too. Otherwise, the alternative would appear not good. The next step: a doctor’s examination today. Read more in the Post, Star-Ledger, Daily News and MLB.com.

• Frank Francisco was examined Monday in New York for continued elbow discomfort. He was diagnosed with a strained flexor pronator tendon in his right elbow and was advised to refrain from throwing for 72 hours. He may then attempt to resume activity. Bottom line: He is making $6.5 million this season. And he likely will not contribute anytime soon. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud, who fractured the first metatarsal in his left foot four weeks ago, has an exam scheduled for Friday in New York. He hopes to be cleared to shed an immobilizing boot and begin weight-bearing activity.

• Alderson, appearing on WFAN, touched on a variety of topics:

--Alderson said he couldn’t foresee rock bottom any lower. “I’m not sure that things can devolve any further,” he said.

--He said this time of year, the only players available are generally via waiver claims and releases, as was the case with Ankiel. In other words: Don’t expect a cavalry.

“This is not the time of year when clubs, at least most clubs, are making massive changes,” Alderson said. “… At this particular juncture, there is not a lot that is available to us. Some of the players who are not playing well have to play better. It’s as simple as that.

(Read full post)

ALBUQUERQUE 5, LAS VEGAS 2: Dylan Owen and Justin Hampson combined to surrender four runs in the seventh. Starter Carlos Torres allowed one run on three hits in six innings. Kirk Nieuwenhuis was hit by a pitch in the first inning in the right knee and departed in the third. Box

BINGHAMTON 5, AKRON 2: The B-Mets (20-18) matched a season high with 14 hits. Their scoring began in a three-run third against Matt Packer that included two Akron errors. With runners at the corners, Josh Rodriguez hit a potential double-play ball that went through the legs of third baseman Giovanny Urshela for the first run. Allan Dykstra followed with an RBI single. Cory Vaughn, who returned to left field Sunday after missing time with an elbow injury, capped the inning's scoring when he beat out a potential double-play ball. In the fifth, with two on and two outs, Vaughn laced a run-scoring single for his second RBI. Cesar Puello rounded out the B-Mets' scoring in the sixth with a solo homer, his team-leading fifth long ball. B-Mets starter Rafael Montero settled down after falling behind early. A one-out, first-inning double by Carlos Moncrief gave Akron a 1-0 lead. The Aeroes tacked on their final run in the third, when Justin Toole hit a seeing-eye single past diving shortstop Wilfredo Tovar and into center. Montero ultimately scattered eight hits over six innings and picked up his fourth win. Chase Huchingson contributed two scoreless relief innings. Closer Jeff Walters earned his league-leading 10th save. Box

BREVARD COUNTY 6, ST. LUCIE 5: Chasen Bradford was charged with four seventh-inning runs. Dustin Lawley and Travis Taijeron had homered in the fifth to give St. Lucie a 4-2 lead. The Mets (22-13) plated one run in the bottom of the ninth, but stranded Aderlin Rodriguez and Taijeron in scoring position when Rylan Sandoval flied out and Cam Maron struck out to end it. Box

CHARLESTON 5, SAVANNAH 3: Yeicok Calderon hit a game-tying two-run homer against Gnats starter Luis Cessa in the sixth and Reymond Nunez had a two-run shot against reliever Julian Hilario two innings later as Savannah squandered a 3-1 lead. The Gnats (21-14) had jumped on RiverDogs starter Luis Niebla in the top of the second. Maikis De La Cruz led off with a double and scored on Jeff Glenn's single. With the bases loaded and one out, Yucarybert De La Cruz hit a sacrifice fly that scored Cole Frenzel and made it 2-0. Charleston answered with one run in the bottom half of the inning on Peter O'Brien's solo homer. Niebla was relieved in the third inning by Adam Smith. With runners on first and second, Stefan Sabol doubled to left field to score Kevin Plawecki. Box

Compiled from team reports

ROUND ROCK 12, LAS VEGAS 6: Starter D.J. Mitchell surrendered six runs in 4 1/3 innings. Eric Campbell's fifth-inning solo homer evened the score at 6, but Round Rock produced six runs against the 51s' bullpen. Campbell had three hits and three RBIs. Kirk Nieuwenhuis went 3-for-5 in the loss. Box

BINGHAMTON 8, HARRISBURG 4 (seven innings): One night after being no-hit, the B-Mets scored eight runs in the first two innings en route to a rain-shortened victory. After Harrisburg scored a run on an Anthony Rendon double in the top half of the first, Binghamton came out swinging against Harrisburg starter Caleb Clay. Darrell Ceciliani led off with a single and Danny Muno followed with a two-run homer. Josh Rodriguez then was hit by a pitch. Rodriguez moved to third on Allan Dykstra’s single and scored on a double play. Binghamton batted around in the second, scoring five more times. Ceciliani had a two-run triple. After Rodriguez singled him home, reliever Matt Swynenberg entered. Dykstra welcomed him with a two-run homer to push the lead to 8-1. B-Mets starter Erik Goeddel ran into trouble in the fourth. He gave up consecutive doubles to Ricky Hague and Swynenberg as Harrisburg cut the deficit to 8-4. Goeddel’s night ended after five innings. He allowed four runs on six hits and picked up his third victory. Adam Kolarek threw a perfect sixth. Jack Leathersich recorded two outs in the seventh before the rain came and ended the game. Box

PALM BEACH 7, ST. LUCIE 3: Dustin Lawley went 3-for-4, scored twice and had two RBIs, but the Mets had their six-game winning streak snapped. Angel Cuan, starting in place of Domingo Tapia, allowed three runs and six hits over six innings. Tapia (2.23 ERA) landed on the DL after burning his non-pitching hand. Lawley had three of the five hits for the Mets, including a two-out, go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth. The Cardinals tied the score in the seventh on Ronny Gil’s RBI double against reliever Estarlin Morel. Jonathan Rodriguez had a go-ahead RBI double in a three-run eighth for the Cardinals against Randy Fontanez. Wanel Mesa allowed a solo homer to Stephen Piscotty in the ninth. Jennry Mejia will start Saturday’s series finale. It will mark his first official minor league game since a spring-training shutdown with forearm tendinitis. Box

ROME 3, SAVANNAH 2: Beck Wheeler (0-1) surrendered the tiebreaking run in the eighth as Jose Peraza singled with two outs, stole second and scored on Levi Hyams’ single. Hyams’ slow bouncer up the middle squirted off the glove of Savannah second baseman Yucarybert De La Cruz and into center field. The Braves (19-13) moved within a game of the Gnats (20-12) for first place in the Southern Division. Savannah never led. In the third, Jayce Boyd doubled home De La Cruz to even the score at 1. In the sixth, Kevin Plawecki doubled up the left-center gap to score Boyd and even the score at 2. Savannah starter Rainy Lara allowed two runs (one earned) in seven innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. Box

Compiled from team reports

LAS VEGAS 6, ROUND ROCK 5: Trailing by a run in the bottom of the eighth, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Collin Cowgill delivered consecutive doubles to even the score at 5. Josh Satin then plated Cowgill with an RBI single. Greg Burke pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save. Zach Lutz and Wilmer Flores had contributed early solo homers as Las Vegas built a 4-0 lead. Chris Schwinden took a scoreless effort into the seventh, when he and Gonzalez Germen combined to surrender five runs. Box

HARRISBURG 6, BINGHAMTON 1: Paul Demny and Ian Krol combined to throw the first no-hitter against the B-Mets since Aug. 13 , 2001. Demny hit a batter and walked another in the first inning, but escaped unscathed. He retired seven in a row until walking Allan Dykstra in the fourth. His night ended at 113 pitches after eight innings. Krol threw a perfect ninth. Cesar Puello went 0-for-3, ending his 15-game hitting streak, which had been the longest active in Double-A. Binghamton scored its lone run in the seventh. After Dykstra led off with his third walk of the game, he moved to third base on a throwing error by Demny. With runners on the corners, Francisco Pena grounded into a run-scoring 3-6-1 double-play. Harrisburg got its offense going right away against B-Mets starter Jacob deGrom. After a throwing error by the catcher Pena on a bunt attempt in the first inning, Anthony Rendon doubled in a run. He came around to score when Jerad Head singled. Harrisburg scored another unearned run in the second, on Dykstra's throwing error. In the sixth, the Senators busted the game open. After Jimmy Van Ostrand doubled and Sandy Leon was intentionally walked, Ricky Hague doubled down the left-field line to knock in both runners. He then scored a batter later when Demny helped himself out with an RBI double. DeGrom’s night ended after 5 2/3 innings. He gave up six runs on nine hits. He is now 0-4 in five Double-A starts. In deGrom’s outings, Binghamton has scored a total of five runs. Box

ST. LUCIE 17, PALM BEACH 1: Noah Syndergaard matched a career high by logging seven innings and struck out seven and Matt Reynolds had three hits and five RBIs as St. Lucie produced its sixth straight win in a rout. Syndergaard (2-1) retired 15 consecutive batters after allowing a leadoff double in the first. He allowed just two baserunners through six innings. He walked one. T.J. Chism struck out two in two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Gilbert Gomez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Robbie Shields finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Cam Maron had two hits, two runs scored and three RBIs. Dustin Lawley had two RBIs and reached base twice. The Mets scored four times in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Shields. Reynolds had a bases-clearing double in a five-run third. The Mets also scored six times in the sixth, which included a two-run double by Maron and a two-run double by Gomez. Box

SAVANNAH 3, ROME 1: Down 1-0 in the sixth, South Atlantic League batting-average leader Kevin Plawecki drew a walk to begin what ended up being a three-run frame. A hit-by-pitch and then a single loaded the bases. Plawecki scored on a wild pitch by Braves starter Rafael Briceno to even the score at 1. Greg Pron followed with a walk to reload the bases and chase Briceno. Facing reliever Alex Wilson in his Rome debut, Jeff Glenn lifted a sacrifice fly, scoring Cole Frenzel. The other runners, Maikis De La Cruz and Pron, also tagged. Braves third baseman Carlos Franco's throw to second, in his attempt on Pron, sailed into right field, allowing De La Cruz to score the Gnats' third run. De La Cruz, who was added to the Gnats' roster on Thursday, was 2-for-4. The Braves scored the game's first run on a solo homer by Casey Kalenkosky in the second against left-hander Steven Matz. Matz (2-0, 1.85 ERA) completed six innings for the first time this season. He allowed one run on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk. The Gnats turned double plays behind him in the fifth and sixth innings to help him out of jams. 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo (hand) has landed on the DL. Box

Compiled from team reports

FIRST PITCH: The Mets will see no shortage of left-handers during a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates that opens at 7:10 tonight at Citi Field. And that should mean more Juan Lagares, Andrew Brown and Marlon Byrd and not very much of Jordany Valdespin.

Southpaw Jeff Locke (3-1, 3.21 ERA) faces Dillon Gee (2-4, 6.16) in the series opener. Left-handers Wandy Rodriguez and Francisco Liriano -- the latter in his Pirates debut -- start the following two days before the Mets see 25-year-old right-hander Jeanmar Gomez on Mother’s Day opposite Matt Harvey.

Thursday’s news reports:

• The Mets lost to the White Sox, 6-3, Wednesday at Citi Field to split a two-game series against Robin Ventura’s crew. Jeremy Hefner (0-4) surrendered a homer to the game’s first batter, Alejandro De Aza, and ultimately was charged with four earned runs on eight hits and a walk in six innings.

The Mets are now winless in Hefner’s six starts this season, although they have scored a combined 10 runs while he has been in those games. The Mets are now 0-7 in the game after Harvey pitches.

Lucas Duda had a solo homer against Jake Peavy in the second inning to even the score at 1. Duda now has seven homers, but only 11 RBIs.

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

• Hefner acknowledged before Wednesday’s start he would be on thin ice if Zack Wheeler were promoted now. “If it was right now, if he came up today, then yeah I would probably be the one that gets sent down,” Hefner told Jorge Castillo in the Star-Ledger. “I’m realistic enough to know that, but I can’t control that.” Wheeler next pitches for Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday.

• After delivering a pinch-hit single in the eighth, Justin Turner remained in the game in left field -- his first outfield action since limited exposure in 2006 with Class A Billings. Turner, who had one spring-training appearance in the outfield in March, did not have any chances Wednesday -- just a homer over his head off the bat of Alex Rios. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Harvey discussed Tuesday’s flirtation with a perfect game with Mike Lupica on ESPN New York 98.7. Listen to the podcast here.

Benjamin Hoffman in the Times assesses the likelihood of Harvey throwing a no-hitter. Writes Hoffman:

Bill James once devised a method of determining how many no-hitters a pitcher could be expected to have pitched based on how often he allowed hits and how many games he started. While the method was somewhat accurate, with [Nolan] Ryan expected to have thrown the most, the same calculations effectively showed how hard it is to predict a no-hitter. Besides Ryan, the only pitchers reasonably expected to have thrown even one no-hitter over the course of their careers were Walter Johnson, Tom Seaver, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens.

Clemens, who twice struck out 20 batters in a game, never threw a no-hitter at any level despite finishing his career with a higher expected no-hit total (1.07) than Sandy Koufax (0.92), who threw four.

Using the James method, it would take hundreds of starts for Harvey to be expected to throw a no-hitter regardless of how well he pitches, but his incredibly low hits per nine innings, which outpaced any of the pitchers at the top of James’s list, makes each of his starts intriguing as long as his current magic lasts.

Ron Darling, comparing Dwight Gooden with Harvey to columnist Bob Klapisch in the Record, said: “The results are about the same in their ability to win at-bats even in a hitter’s count. But whereas Doc was Baryshnikov, Harvey is more workmanlike. With Doc, it was all about the strikeouts; Harvey can defeat you in different ways because he has more pitches.”

Read more thoughts on Harvey’s outing after time to reflect in the Times, Newsday and Star-Ledger. By the way, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was among who texted Harvey after the dominating performance against the Sox.

• Cody Derespina in Newsday recreates the timeline of Mets PR man Jay Horwitz’s tweets about Harvey’s supposed intention to skip last night’s Mets game to watch the Rangers at MSG. Horwitz was joking, but some on Twitter took him literally. Read more in the Daily News.

• Frank Francisco worked a scoreless inning with two walks for Class A St. Lucie on Wednesday. Francisco, nearing activation from the disabled list after experiencing spring-training elbow inflammation, pitched for the third time in four days.

• Cesar Puello homered twice, Logan Verrett came within an out of his third career complete game and Jeff Walters produced his Eastern League-leading ninth save in Binghamton’s 3-1 win against Trenton. Aderlin Rodriguez had a walk-off single that plated T.J. Rivera as St. Lucie beat Daytona, 6-5, in 10 innings. Zach Lutz produced a three-run homer and Kirk Nieuwenhuis also went deep after replacing ejected Collin Cowgill, but starter Carlos Torres surrendered nine runs in four innings as Las Vegas lost to Round Rock, 9-5. Wally Backman also was ejected by the first-base ump after Cowgill was ruled out to end the fifth inning.

• White Sox left-hander Hector Santiago, who tossed seven scoreless innings opposite Harvey on Tuesday, talks in the Star-Ledger about his Newark roots. Santiago’s favorite player growing up: fellow southpaw John Franco.

• From the bloggers … Mike Baxter discusses the Mets' hitting approach with Metsmerized Online. … Mets Police offers some unofficial rules for Saturday’s Banner Day. … Faith and Fear reports on one Mets fan who experienced his own kind of perfection at Citi Field Tuesday. … John Delcos at Mets Report writes that it isn’t important for Harvey to pitch a no-hitter -- just to pitch.

BIRTHDAYS: Jerry Buchek, an infielder in the late ’60s with the Mets, was born on this date in 1942.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Pie tasting for our wedding! @anthony_recker twitter.com/KellyShepardso…

— Kelly Shepardson (@KellyShepardson) May 9, 2013

YOU’RE UP: What is the one change you would immediately make to the 25-man roster if you were in charge?

While a prep athlete in Tulsa, Okla., Matt Reynolds strongly considered playing college basketball instead of baseball. A point guard, he received interest from Iowa State as a walk-on as well as from Butler, Furman and “a little bit” from Kansas.

When he got to his senior year, though, Reynolds decided college baseball could provide him the best future. So he enrolled at the University of Arkansas and parlayed that into getting drafted in the second round last year by the Mets.

“I loved both sports. Both of them were my passion,” Reynolds said. “It was a tough decision to give up basketball. And if I decided to play basketball, it was going to be a tough decision to give up baseball. But I realized baseball was where my future was at, and I loved it equally.”

Where would he be now if he had chosen hoops?

“I’d still be in college, finishing up my degree,” Reynolds said. “That’s for sure.”

Reynolds, 22, is hitting .264 with one homer and 15 RBIs through 110 at-bats as the shortstop for Class A St. Lucie.

He actually primarily played third base in college with the Hogs, but exclusively has moved back to shortstop in pro ball.

“I played shortstop all of high school,” Reynolds said. “I went into college as a shortstop. I played shortstop my freshman year and got hurt [with a borderline stress fracture in a shin]. I came back my sophomore year and we needed a third baseman. Our other shortstop [Tim Carver] played well. So they put me at third for an extra bat out there.”

Said St. Lucie manager Ryan Ellis: “I was actually very surprised to hear he was a third baseman in college. I’m thinking if he’s playing third, who the heck is playing short? … He’s like an extra pitcher on the field. He’s moving the guys around. He seems to always be in the right place at the right time. With that said, tools-wise, I think he’s a little bit limited running. But his bat, I think potentially, he can show a little more pull-side power the more experience he gets. He has a very strong arm.”

In his first pro season, Reynolds hit .259 with three homers and 13 RBIs in 42 games at low-A Savannah after the draft in 2012.

“I feel like the SEC prepared me for pro ball, especially in low-A -- just the velocity part of pitchers,” Reynolds said. “In the SEC we’re facing [Kevin] Gausman and Bobby Wahl and all those types of guys that are first-rounders, or who are going to be first-rounders.”

One thrill for Reynolds so far: He was borrowed from minor league camp and appeared in three Grapefruit League games. He had an RBI double against Detroit’s Jose Alvarez on March 24 and a single against St. Louis’ Nick Greenwood two days later before his perfection finally got spoiled on the last day of spring-training play, on a grounder to third against Baltimore sidearmer Darren O’Day.

“The third baseman made a diving play and screwed me a little bit,” Reynolds said with a laugh.

Organization leaders

Average: Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, .400; Jayce Boyd, Savannah, .381; Andrew Brown, Vegas, .367; Juan Lagares, Vegas, .346; Brandon Nimmo, Savannah, .322; Josh Satin, Vegas, .313; Jamie Hoffmann, Vegas, .305; Cory Vaughn, Binghamton, .291; T.J. Rivera, St. Lucie, .290; Rylan Sandoval, St. Lucie, .284.

Homers: Dustin Lawley, St. Lucie, 6; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 5; Aderlin Rodriguez, St. Lucie, 5; Josh Satin, Vegas, 5.

RBI: Jayce Boyd, Savannah, 28; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 28; Andrew Brown, Vegas, 27; Dustin Lawley, St. Lucie, 22.

Steals: Alonzo Harris, Binghamton, 11; Darrell Ceciliani, Binghamton, 8; Cesar Puello, Binghamton, 7; Danny Muno, Binghamton, 5; Brian Bixler, Vegas, 4; Stefan Sabol, Savannah, 4.

ERA: Rainy Lara, Savannah, 1.45; Domingo Tapia, St. Lucie, 2.23; Hansel Robles, St. Lucie, 2.36; Noah Syndergaard, St. Lucie, 2.90; Matt Bowman, St. Lucie, 2.95; Collin McHugh, Vegas, 2.98; Robert Gsellman, Savannah, 3.00; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 3.49; Rafael Montero, Binghamton, 3.54.

Wins: Matt Bowman, St. Lucie, 5; Rainy Lara, Savannah, 4; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 4; Gabriel Ynoa, Savannah, 4.

Saves: Jeff Walters, Binghamton, 8; Bret Mitchell, Savannah, 4; T.J. Chism, St. Lucie, 3.

Strikeouts: Rafael Montero, Binghamton, 48; Zack Wheeler, Vegas, 40; Matt Bowman, St. Lucie, 33.

Short hops

• St. Lucie outfielder Travis Taijeron has been named Florida State League player of the week. Taijeron, an 18th-round pick in 2011 from Cal Poly Pomona, hit .474 with one homer and six doubles in six games through Sunday. Third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez also has heated up with the FSL club. Rodriguez is 7-for-17 with two homers and nine RBIs in his past four games, which has upped his season average to .218.

• Mets third base coach Tim Teufel got a treat during Monday’s off-day. Teufel watched his son Shawn Teufel pitch three scoreless innings in relief for Binghamton at Trenton. It was the first time the elder Teufel had seen his son pitch since Pedro Feliciano helped the 26-year-old left-hander drop down to a submarine arm slot from a conventional delivery earlier this year.

• Binghamton outfielder Cory Vaughn has been out since April 29 with a sprained ulna collateral ligament in his right, throwing arm. Vaughn has started throwing lightly and is taking batting practice. Vaughn had been off to a solid start with the B-Mets. He is hitting .291 with four homers, 17 RBIs and three steals and has a .391 on-base percentage through 92 plate appearances.

• Right-hander Jeff Walters, whose eight saves with Binghamton lead the Eastern League, has an interesting distinction. Walters was drafted five times -- out of high school, twice out of junior college, then after his junior and senior years at the University of Georgia. He signed after being selected in the seventh round by the Mets in 2010. Told getting drafted five times must be some type of record, Walters said he actually knows another person who experienced it -- his former high school pitching coach, Randy O’Neal, who ended up being the 15th overall pick in the 1981 draft by the Detroit Tigers the final time.

• Left-hander Jack Leathersich continues to put up gaudy strikeout totals. He now has 27 in 15 innings with the B-Mets and 166 in 99 2/3 professional innings since getting drafted in the fifth round in 2011 out of UMass Lowell. Leathersich isn’t a flamethrower. He sits at 91-94 mph. Nor is he particularly tall. He’s listed at 5-foot-11. But he does make it difficult to pick up the ball and is getting hitters to chase fastballs up and out of the zone.

• Brandon Nimmo still has not returned to the lineup since April 29 because of a bruised hand. The Mets have not believed Nimmo’s issue is serious, but will get him checked out as the absence lingers.

• Matt Bowman made his Florida State League debut Tuesday after being promoted from Savannah, where he went 4-0 with a 2.64 ERA in five starts. Bowman, a Princeton product who has a Tim Lincecum-style delivery, earned the win against Daytona in his first FSL appearance. Robert Gsellman, who had been plugging a spot with St. Lucie, went to the Gnats to take Bowman’s spot.

• Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Collin Cowgill both will see center-field action with Las Vegas.

• The Mets planned to get Feliciano to a higher level of the minors than St. Lucie by now, but Feliciano’s food-poisoning issue slowed the ascent.

• The Mets are taking it slow with Michael Fulmer as he returns from surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Fulmer has not pitched again in a game since throwing two innings in an extended spring training game last Monday.

• Right-hander Luis Mateo is making progress with a throwing program after leaving his Double-A debut April 15 with elbow inflammation. He was due to throw a bullpen session either yesterday or today.

SACRAMENTO 11, LAS VEGAS 7: In his second 51s start, D.J. Mitchell surrendered seven first-inning runs, although only three were earned because of a one-out throwing error by third baseman Eric Campbell. Las Vegas rallied to tie the score at 7 in the fourth on an RBI double by Josh Satin and run-scoring single by Wilmer Flores. Dylan Owen suffered the loss in relief when he surrendered a tiebreaking solo homer to Scott Moore. Collin Cowgill went 1-for-4 with a walk and a throwing error in his Las Vegas debut. Cowgill started in left field, with Kirk Nieuwenhuis remaining in center. Flores finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Campbell had a pair of doubles and two RBIs in three at-bats. Box

BINGHAMTON 8, HARRISBURG 2: The B-Mets broke a tie with a three-run fourth and four pitchers combined to retire the final 19 Senators hitters. Darrell Ceciliani had three hits, drove in three and scored three times. Richard Lucas had three hits and two RBIs. Facing Harrisburg starter Paul Demny, Alonzo Harris opened the game with a double and scored when Lucas singled. Binghamton took a 2-0 lead on Allan Dysktra's run-scoring groundout in the third. B-Mets starter Erik Goeddel sailed through a pair of innings before laboring through the third. The righty allowed two hits, walked two and surrendered a pair of runs in the 39-pitch frame. Anthony Rendon’s 11-pitch plate appearance ended with a walk and set the stage for Jerad Head’s game-tying two-run single. After Demny walked Goeddel with two outs in the fourth and Rendon misplayed Harris’ chopper, Ceciliani had a two-run single to give Binghamton the lead for good. Lucas tacked on with an RBI double. Head’s hit in the third proved to be Harrisburg’s final baserunner. Goeddel (2-2) retired the final 10 batters he faced. He allowed two runs on three hits and fanned four over six innings to end his four-game winless streak. Joe Bonfe delivered a pinch-hit run-scoring single in the eighth and Ceciliani crushed his first homer of the season, a solo shot, in the ninth. Cesar Puello added a run-producing fielder’s choice. Relievers Adam Kolarek, Josh Edgin and Jeff Walters contributed scoreless frames. The bullpen has retired the last 23 batters it has faced over the three games. Box

ST. LUCIE 10, FORT MYERS 5: Aderlin Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs as the Mets avoided getting swept in the three-game series. Miracle third baseman Miguel Sano hit a three-run homer off St. Lucie starter Robert Gsellman in the first. The Mets answered, loading the bases in the second with no outs. Cam Maron then ripped a bases-clearing double. Rodriguez hit a solo homer in the third to give the Mets a 4-3 lead. Dustin Lawley had a sacrifice fly RBI and Rodriguez added an RBI single in the fifth for a three-run cushion. Lawley also had an RBI double in the seventh to make it 7-3. Travis Taijeron launched his second homer of the season in the eighth. Rodriguez had a two-run double in the ninth. Making his second start, Gsellman earned his first Florida State League victory. All three hits he surrendered in five innings came in the first. He walked three and struck out three. Gsellman retired the final seven batters he faced. Hamilton Bennett pitched two scoreless relief innings. Randy Fontanez allowed an unearned run in the eighth and T. J. Chism allowed a run in the ninth before inducing a game-ending double play. Box

SAVANNAH 9, HICKORY 2: Kevin Plawecki went 3-for-5 and capped the Gnats' scoring with a ninth-inning grand slam. He upped his batting average to .416. The score was tied at 1 until the eighth, when Chad Zurcher delivered a tiebreaking two-run single in what became a four-run frame. Eudy Pina, Stefan Sabol and Phillip Evans scored two runs apiece in the win. Starter Rainy Lara improved to 4-1. Lara limited Hickory to one unearned run on four hits and a walk while striking out six in seven innings. Hunter Carnevale handled the final two innings. He allowed a one-out solo homer to Jorge Alfaro in the bottom of the ninth that capped the scoring. Box

Compiled from team reports

ATLANTA

FIRST PITCH: After suffering a pair of demoralizing defeats early this week in Miami, the Mets felt good to be the team to come back a few outs from defeat.

David Wright produced a one-out homer in the ninth on a 97 mph fastball from Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and the Mets ultimately won, 7-5 in 10 innings, Friday night at Turner Field.

“They’re one of the best in the game -- and then arguably the best in the game pitching the ninth,” Wright said about Atlanta’s bullpen and specifically Kimbrel. “Any time you get the opportunity to win a close game late against these guys, you’ve got to take advantage of it, because that opportunity doesn’t come around too often.”

Jonathon Niese (2-2, 3.31 ERA) looks to up the Mets’ winning streak to three games when he opposes right-hander Julio Teheran (1-0, 5.08) at 7:10 tonight. Rain is forecast.

Saturday’s news reports:

• Sandy Alderson offered a vote of confidence -- or, at least, no indication Terry Collins’ job is in jeopardy anytime soon. Alderson also told Mike Puma in the Post about the 2013 Mets:

“When you’re not hitting, it basically puts pressure on every aspect of your game. And our starting pitching has to get into the sixth and seventh inning. And I don’t believe our bullpen is as bad a part of that doomsday scenario. If you look at that pen, we’ve actually got some guys that have pitched well. Have they pitched well in high-leverage situations? Inconsistent.

“There’s a lot of the season left to play out,” the GM continued. “I do think perceptions are heightened when you go into Miami, a place everybody thinks every team should sweep ... and you end up losing two games, and you lose them basically with no offense the first two nights. But you move forward.”

Read more in the Daily News.

• Jordany Valdespin irked Mets people by failing to show up for early batting practice Friday at Turner Field, sources told ESPNNewYork.com. Valdespin, after contributing to the win with a 10th-inning pinch-hit walk and steal, suggested he was not required to attend.

Jared Diamond in the Journal discusses the merits of Valdespin as a pinch hitter and starter.

• John Buck, Lucas Duda, Marlon Byrd and Wright all went deep in the Mets’ victory Friday night. Bobby Parnell inherited a runner on third base with one out from Brandon Lyon in the bottom of the ninth and wriggled free to send the game to extra innings. Jeurys Familia earned his first major league save and could be setting himself up for more late-inning work. Shaun Marcum lasted only 4 1/3 innings. The Mets felt they caught a break when Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez lifted Mike Minor after seven innings and 90 pitches, even though the southpaw had retired 18 straight batters.

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

• Read a transcript of Braves postgame quotes from David O’Brien in the AJC.

• Read more on Marcum in the Post.

• Mike Piazza made an appearance with the Miami City Ballet on Friday.

• There will be less Collin Cowgill with the Mets. Actually, none at all for the time being. Cowgill was demoted Friday to clear a roster spot for the promotion of fellow outfielder Andrew Brown. Brown went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his Mets debut as the starting right fielder. Read more in the Times, Star-Ledger, Newsday and MLB.com.

• Center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis had an amazing catch Friday night for Triple-A Las Vegas at Sacramento.

• Right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who arrived with Travis d’Arnaud in the R.A. Dickey deal, suffered his first loss as a member of the organization despite limiting Fort Myers to one run in six innings. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Kieran Darcy at ESPNNewYork.com profiles Columbia slugger and military veteran Joey Falcone, the son of former Mets pitcher Pete Falcone.

• Justin Turner started over Ike Davis at first base on Friday. Read more in the Record.

• Drink alcohol in the Citi Field parking lot and risk a $25 fine, writes Eric Holden at Yahoo Sports.

• From the bloggers … In recognition of the Kentucky Derby, John Delcos at Mets Report gives Mets of past and present horse names. … Faith and Fear in Flushing marvels how the Atlanta opener was two games in one. … At Mets Police, a Mets-themed coffin and a group photo of Piazza's ballet. … Rising Apple writers opine on April and what the Mets ought to do going forward.

BIRTHDAYS: Infielder Miguel Cairo is 39. … Catcher Robinson Cancel, who was nicknamed by teammates “La Tortuga,” turns 37. … Reliever Manny Aybar is 41.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Good game tonight lets go mets.Good night thanks to all my fans for the amazing support love my fans#TeamJV1 #ClanJV1

— Jordany Valdespin (@jordany023) May 4, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Did you agree with Collin Cowgill getting demoted for Andrew Brown?

Matt den Dekker is not the only center fielder in the organization who can turn in highlight-reel plays. Kirk Nieuwenhuis reached over the outfield wall to take away a homer from Stephen Vogt on Friday night in Sacramento.

Since a demotion, Nieuwenhuis is hitting .184 with one homer, four RBIs and six walks in nine games with Triple-A Las Vegas. He has struck out 12 times in 38 at-bats.

TACOMA 5, LAS VEGAS 3: The 51s squandered a late 3-2 lead as Tacoma swept the four-game series. Center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis' one-out fielding error in the seventh allowed Alex Liddi to reach second. Liddi then advanced to third on a wild pitch from Gonzalez Germen. Stefen Romero's RBI single evened the score. Germen surrendered a second run in the inning, on a one-out double by Carlos Triunfel. Greg Burke surrendered a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly to give the Rainiers a two-run cushion. Pinch hitters Reese Havens and Omar Quintanilla walked to open the bottom of the ninth, and Kai Gronauer advanced both with a sacrifice bunt. But Nieuwenhuis and Brian Bixler consecutively struck out to end the game. Las Vegas had tied the score a 2 in the fifth on Josh Satin's two-run single. An inning later, the 51s had taken a 3-2 lead when Andrew Brown was hit by a pitch and scored on Jamie Hoffmann's fielder's choice groundout. Starter Chris Schwinden allowed two earned runs on three hits and five walks while striking out four in five innings. Box

AKRON 7, BINGHAMTON 5: Akron produced four homers, including a tiebreaking shot solo shot by Jose Ramirez against reliever Adam Kolarek to open the seventh. The Aeros ended starter Jacob deGrom's day after 5 1/3 innings with back-to-back long balls by Jesus Aguilar and Carlos Moncrief. DeGrom surrendered five runs on seven hits in his third Double-A start. With the B-Mets trailing 2-0, Danny Muno tripled against Akron starter Paolo Espino in the fifth to pull Binghamton within a run. Binghamton matched Akron’s long ball effort for a while. A four-run sixth pulled Binghamton even at 5. Josh Rodriguez and Cory Vaughn each had two-run homers in the frame. It was Vaughn's team-leading fourth homer. The tie did not last. Kolarek gave up the seventh-inning homer. Quincy Latimore added a solo shot in the eighth against Shawn Teufel. Alonzo Harris went 0-for-4, snapping a 10-game hitting streak. Box

ST. LUCIE 9, TAMPA 2: Right-hander Noah Syndergaard limited the Yankees to one unearned run on five hits and one walk and struck out seven in seven innings for his first win as a member of the Mets organization. He was acquired from Toronto in December in the R.A. Dickey trade. Robbie Shields went 4-for-5 with two doubles and scored three times to lift his average to .313. Dustin Lawley went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs. Travis Taijeron contributed two RBIs. Box

SAVANNAH 3, WEST VIRGINIA 2: Cole Frenzel plated Kevin Plawecki with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to complete a comeback victory. Savannah (15-8) has won six straight to pull into a first-place with Augusta. In a 2-all game in the ninth, Plawecki was hit by a pitch. Jeff Glenn then sent a broken-bat chopper to third. The bat shard struck West Virginia third baseman Eric Wood, who could not make the play. With runners at first and second, Frenzel followed with a line-drive RBI single to left. Frenzel had a hand in every Gnats run. He finished 3-for-4 with a double, walk, two RBIs and run scored. The Gnats had evened the score at 2 in the eighth. Frenzel and Stefan Sabol singled. Frenzel eventually scored on a fielder's choice when Jeff Reynolds chopped a ball high off home plate. The Power (9-15) scored twice against Savannah starter Matt Koch in the first inning. An error and three straight singles led to that damage. Koch tossed 3 2/3 innings and was charged with two runs (one earned) on four hits with no walks and a strikeout. Tim Peterson, Jake Kuebler and Tyler Vanderheiden combined for 5 1/3 scoreless relief innings. Vanderheiden earned his first South Atlantic League win. Box

Compiled from team reports

TACOMA 8, LAS VEGAS 2: Tacoma put up five runs in the first inning against Collin McHugh, who allowed six straight hits to open the game. McHugh subsequently retired 16 straight batters, though. He tossed seven innings, ultimately allowing no further damage. Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a solo homer in the first off Jeremy Bonderman. Andrew Brown later had a solo homer. Box

BINGHAMTON 7, AKRON 2: 2011 third-round pick Logan Verrett from Baylor allowed two runs on two hits in eight innings. He retired the final 11 hitters he faced, and 21 of his last 22, to earn his Eastern League-leading fourth victory. Alonzo Harris homered over the left-field wall to open the bottom of the first. Harris went 2-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Akron’s Chris Wallace matched Harris with a solo shot against Verrett to open the second. The B-Mets produced single runs in each of the first four innings against left-hander Matt Packer. The Aeros responded with a sacrifice fly by Giovanny Urshela in the fifth, but Binghamton answered. In the sixth, Allan Dykstra hit a sac fly to score Harris and Blake Forsythe blew the game open with a two-run double to give Binghamton a 7-2 lead. Richard Lucas departed the game after pulling up lame while running out an eighth-inning groundout. Manager Pedro Lopez told the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin the injury appeared just a cramp. He was replaced by Josh Rodriguez for the ninth. Box

ST. LUCIE 13, BRADENTON 5: Starter Marcos Camarena surrendered five runs in 3 2/3 innings, but St. Lucie overcame a 6-5 deficit with a six-run fifth. Charley Thurber added a three-run homer in the sixth and finished with four RBIs. Aderlin Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored, an RBI and walk. Estarlin Morel, Randy Fontanez and Wanel Mesa combined for 5 1/3 scoreless relief innings. Box

SAVANNAH 1, WEST VIRGINIA 0: Starter Rainy Lara tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings. He limited the Power to five hits while striking out nine and walking none. The lone run came in the fifth, when Stefan Sabol singled, advanced to third on Yucarybert De La Cruz's single and scored on Phillip Evans' fielder's choice groundout. Bret Mitchell combined with Lara (3-1) on the six-hit shutout. Mitchell recorded the final five outs for his second save. Box

Compiled from team reports

TACOMA 13, LAS VEGAS 12: Zack Wheeler surrendered five earned runs on six hits, three walks and a hit batter in five-plus innings. He struck out seven in a 102-pitch effort (62 strikes). After allowing consecutive doubles to open the game, Wheeler retired 12 of the next 13 batters before his outing unraveled in the fifth. Staked to a 7-1 lead, Wheeler surrendered a leadoff homer in the fifth to Carlos Triunfel. Tacoma eventually loaded the bases with two outs on two walks and an infield single. Alex Liddi then delivered a two-run double on a first-pitch fastball. An inning later, Wheeler again allowed a leadoff homer, this time to Stefen Romero. After hitting the next batter, Triunfel, with an 0-2 pitch, Wheeler was lifted by Wally Backman. Kirk Nieuwenhuis started in center in his 51s debut. Nieuwenhuis had an RBI single but also had four strikeouts in five at-bats.

With Las Vegas leading 10-6, Justin Hampson allowed a pair of batters to reach to open the ninth. Bidding for his first professional save, Greg Peavey entered, loaded the bases, then issued three consecutive walks to force in runs with none out. Armando Rodriguez then entered a bases-loaded, no-out jam with the 51s clinging to a 10-9 lead. Rodriguez coaxed a pop-out to shortstop before surrendering a game-tying single. He then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Tacoma to take the lead in what became a seven-run frame. A throwing error allowed two Las Vegas runs to score in the bottom of the ninth, but Jamie Hoffmann flied out to deep left-center to end it. Andrew Brown (.351) and Omar Quintanilla drove in three runs apiece. Josh Satin went 3-for-5 to up his average to .362. The 51s were playing their first game since Sunday. Frigid weather had interrupted their attempts to play in Colorado Springs. Box

BRADENTON 9, ST. LUCIE 1: The Marauders broke a 1-all tie in the top of the sixth on a two-out RBI single by Dan Gamache against St. Lucie reliever Wanel Mesa. Mesa had inherited a runner on third with two outs from starter Domingo Tapia. Tapia was charged with two earned runs on four hits while striking out five and walking two in 5 2/3 innings. Bradenton blew open the game with a six-run seventh. Two runs were charged to Mesa and four to Chasen Bradford. Matt Reynolds (2-for-3) drove in St. Lucie's lone run with a fifth-inning single that plated T.J. Rivera. Box

SAVANNAH 7, DELMARVA 2: Jayce Boyd and Kevin Plawecki each went 3-for-4 with a homer. Boyd upped his average to .429. Plawecki is now hitting .392. 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo went 0-for-4 to slip to .367. Stefan Sabol also drove in two runs. Gnats starter Gabriel Ynoa (2-2) limited Delmarva to one run on three hits and a walk while striking out six in 6 1/3 innings. Hunter Carnevale tossed 1 2/3 scoreless relief innings. Box

Compiled from team reports

FIRST PITCH: David Wright had a game-tying two-out single in the ninth that plated Mike Baxter and Jordany Valdespin belted a grand slam an inning later as the Mets beat the Dodgers, 7-3, Wednesday night at Citi Field.

It was the first walk-off grand slam by a Met since Kevin McReynolds against Montreal’s Scott Ruskin on June, 25 1991 and the sixth in franchise history. It also marked the second walk-off hit by a Met this season, joining Marlon Byrd against the Miami Marlins on April 7.

(Robin Ventura had a grand-slam single to end Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves. He was not credited with the homer because teammate Todd Pratt interrupted his trip around the bases to celebrate.)

Collin Cowgill and John Buck also have slams this season.

The late comeback got Matt Harvey off the hook for his first 2013 loss. It prevented the Mets from dipping below .500 for the first time this season.

Baxter had hustled for a double to lead off the ninth with the Mets trailing 3-2 after Carl Crawford could not hold onto his leadoff sinking liner.

The Mets (10-9) now send Jeremy Hefner to the mound for today’s rubber-game matinee.

Hefner, who has allowed an NL-high seven homers, opposes South Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu in the 1:10 p.m. series finale. (Interesting side note: Ryu learned his changeup from ex-Met Mr. Koo.)

Also, please join me for a noon Mets chat here.

Thursday’s news reports:

• Harvey surrendered a replay-awarded two-run homer to Matt Kemp in the sixth that gave Los Angeles a 3-1 lead. It marked the first time this season an opponent had scored more than a run against Harvey and the first time he failed to complete seven innings. Harvey (6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) watched his ERA rise to 1.54.

Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 remains the last major leaguer to toss seven-plus innings and allow one or fewer runs in each of his first five starts of a season. Still, Wright’s two-out hit in the ninth will allow Harvey on Monday in Miami to try to join Pedro Martinez (2006) and Dwight Gooden (1988) as the only Mets to produce 5-0 April records. Harvey's 109 strikeouts through 15 career starts trail only Gooden (113) and Nolan Ryan (112) in franchise history.

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

• Columnist John Harper in the Daily News notes the attendance is not seeing a Gooden-like bump from Harvey starts. Not yet anyway.

You’d think Mets fans would be filling up Citi Field to see him, the way they once did for Dwight Gooden, but only 26,000 or show showed up for the much-hyped Harvey-Strasburg duel on Friday, and then on Wednesday, even with the ballclub offering discounted tickets and Matt Harvey T-shirts to promote his start, the place looked two-thirds empty. Certainly the attendance seemed smaller than the announced crowd of 24,130.

What it tells you is just how disillusioned Mets fans are with everything that has transpired in recent years, and all too aware that everything GM Sandy Alderson has done is with 2014 and beyond in mind.

Read more on Harvey in the Post, Times and Journal.

• The Mets, Mayor Bloomberg and MLB held a midday press conference at City Hall on Wednesday to launch All-Star voting.

Light on substance, the event did reveal the pregame parade featuring All-Stars riding in cars will travel down 42^nd St. on July 16 from Bryant Park, past Grand Central Station, to between Second and Third avenues.

Also revealed: The Mets selected Baxter, Lucas Duda and Kirk Nieuwenhuis to appear on the All-Star ballot as the team’s outfielders -- omitting Byrd, Cowgill and Valdespin.

In a lighter moment, a questioner asked Wright why he sticks his tongue out while playing. Wright suggested it is a focus thing, which he has been doing since childhood. “I used to get yelled at by my teachers when I was taking tests in elementary school, because when I concentrate, my tongue just comes out,” the six-time All-Star said. “And that’s about all I’ve got.”

In discussing New York City as a sports mecca, Bloomberg noted the Mets soon should have a soccer-playing neighbor at adjacent Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Hizzoner said he “hopefully” expected a stadium announcement soon.

There were a few painful moments of forced humor. Bloomberg, who is the subject of a parody Twitter account about his Spanish (@ElBloombito), lightheartedly told Mets ambassador Edgardo Alfonzo: "Tu español es bueno.” Bloomberg, at the outset of the press conference, had said: "Welcome to our home field, City Hall.” After no reaction from those assembled at City Hall, the mayor added: “That’s funny. You're supposed to laugh."

MLB and the Mets also announced plans to donate more than $4 million to causes including FirstStepNYC (PS/IS 41 in Brownsville, Brooklyn), youth-field renovations at Hinton Park in Flushing and O’Donohue Park in Far Rockaway, St. Albans Community Living Center in Jamaica, Boys & Girls Club Construction Project (South Queens Boys & Girls Club in Richmond Hill), City Harvest and Wheelchair Sports Federation.

Read more in the Post, Daily News, Star-Ledger, Newsday and MLB.com.

• Jonathon Niese, who was struck with a comebacker in the lower right leg off and forced from Tuesday’s game, had some swelling and tightness a day after receiving the jolt. He may delay his bullpen session by a day to Friday and throw more lightly than customarily between starts. But Niese intends to proceed with his next scheduled start, against the Philadelphia Phillies opposite Cole Hamels on Sunday at Citi Field. Read more in the Record and Times.

• Zack Wheeler is listed as the scheduled starter for Triple-A Las Vegas tonight -- leapfrogging others in the rotation. The 51s have not played since Sunday because of frigid weather and a pre-scheduled off-day. Wheeler, who will face Tacoma (Seattle Mariners) at 10:05 ET, is coming off an outing last Friday in which he was charged with four earned runs on three hits and six walks while tossing 108 pitches in 4 1/3 innings. Three of the runs charged to Wheeler scored after he departed with the bases loaded. You can listen to the radio call of 51s games for free here.

• Shaun Marcum joined his teammates at Citi Field in advance of Saturday’s start against the Phillies. He indicated the nerve inflammation that caused pain in his neck and shoulder had calmed with injections. Terry Collins plans to cap Marcum at 90 pitches in his Mets debut. Read more in the Post, Times, Newsday and Star-Ledger.

• Mets security guard Paolo Neto said Kemp's replay-reviewed ball to the right-field corner definitely was a homer. “It was over the fence,” Neto told Howie Kussoy in the Post. “I was just sitting there when I saw the ball. I didn’t even think it was going to reach me, but it came right at me. I was just trying to protect myself and it hit me in the hands.” Read more in the Daily News.

• Jayce Boyd went 2-for-2 with two RBIs, two runs scored and three walks and Jeff Glenn went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs as Savannah beat Delmarva, 9-3. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Read more on Baxter's hustling leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth in the Post.

• From the bloggers … Shannon from MetsPolice.com will forgo sleep to watch Harvey, but not to watch the bullpen.


BIRTHDAYS: Blaine Beatty, who was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles for Doug Sisk on Dec. 8, 1987, turns 49.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Just saw replay of @johnbuck44 #pie & I think I'm gonna have to keep that duty 4 myself so no 1 gets hurt #RightCross #goldengloves #TKO

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) April 25, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Which Mets will be selected to the All-Star Game?