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FIRST PITCH: How much longer does Jordany Valdespin’s second-base audition last?

In six starts since becoming an everyday player, Valdespin is 3-for-23. And that’s not to mention tossing a throw over Jonathon Niese’s head for an error during Saturday’s sloppy game against the Cubs.

So while most of the attention rightfully will be focused on Zack Wheeler during a five-game series in Atlanta over four days, how Terry Collins handles second base also is worth monitoring.

The Mets face left-handed starters in Tuesday’s split doubleheader matinee (rookie Alex Wood) as well as Thursday (Mike Minor), giving Collins at least two chances right off the bat to sit Valdespin.

Dillon Gee (5-6, 4.84 ERA) opposes right-hander Tim Hudson (4-6, 4.41) in the 7:10 p.m. series opener today. Over his past three outings, Gee is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA. He has struck out 26 and walked three in 21 innings during that span.

Wheeler, who was due to fly to Atlanta on Sunday, is scheduled to hold an afternoon press conference today in advance of his Tuesday night major league debut.

Monday’s news reports:

• Kirk Nieuwenhuis delivered a walk-off three-run homer against Carlos Marmol to cap a four-run ninth inning as the Mets salvaged the series finale against the Chicago Cubs with a 4-3 win on Sunday at Citi Field. It marked the first walk-off homer with the Mets trailing by two or more runs since Bobby Bonilla had a three-run walk-off homer against Cincinnati’s Rob Dibble on Aug. 30, 1992 at Shea Stadium, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Nieuwenhuis had been 1-for-15 with seven strikeouts since returning from the minors before the long ball.

The win absolved Jeremy Hefner of getting charged with a loss in an outing in which two of the three runs he surrendered in five innings were unearned. Carlos Torres, who bumped Greg Burke from the roster, tossed two scoreless relief innings in his Mets debut. Marlon Byrd homered to open the ninth. Byrd now has 11 homers in 33 games. That is his quickest to that homer total in his career. His previous best: 11 homers in his first 91 games in 2009 with the Texas Rangers.

Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Times, Journal and Record.

• Read more on Torres in the Star-Ledger.

• Whether it was cougars, Mets employees punching mass ballots or otherwise, David Wright moved closer to injured Pablo Sandoval for the vote lead to be the NL’s starting third baseman in the July 16 All-Star Game at Citi Field. Wright now trails Sandoval by 126,403 votes.

• Wright called a players-only meeting after Saturday’s loss to the Cubs. “We got some new faces here, you got some younger players, and I want to make sure this isn't something where we're OK with where we're at, we're OK with kind of playing the rest of this season out and going through the motions,” Wright told Mike Vorkunov in the Star-Ledger. “I want to make sure that doesn't happen."

Anthony DiComo at MLB.com reported LaTroy Hawkins and John Buck also spoke during the meeting. "I really hate team meetings," Wright told DiComo. "They're one of my least-favorite things, because it usually means that things aren't going so well. But there's times where it's good to get together and get some things off of my chest."

• At least one Met took issue with Bob Costas’ characterization of the team’s walk-off celebration Sunday. Costas, narrating game highlights, said: “Two on, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, just up from Triple-A, takes Carlos Marmol deep. Nieuwenhuis with a walk-off three-run home run. The Mets with four in the bottom of the ninth to win it, 4-3. And the team 14 games under .500 celebrates as if it just won the seventh game of the World Series. Another indication of the ongoing decline of Western civilization.”

Said recent Mets call-up David Aardsma, a veteran of eight major league seasons, in a pair of tweets: “I love Bob Costas but are we supposed to roll over and die on the season? Or should we celebrate the excitement of a huge comeback? This ... Might be the beginning of something huge, we needed that win as a team! That's what we were celebrating!!!!”

• Dave Caldwell in the Journal discussed Byrd’s Mets contribution with the outfielder.

• The Brooklyn Cyclones open their season tonight at Staten Island. Robert Gsellman is the Opening Day starter in the 7 p.m. game. Gsellman, a 13th-round pick in 2011 out of high school in Los Angeles, had made a combined seven starts this season for St. Lucie and Savannah, going 3-3 with a 3.55 ERA.

• One week after a demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas, Ike Davis went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts Sunday. He is hitting .174 (4-for-23) with four walks and seven strikeouts through six Pacific Coast League games.

• Joe Bonfe’s walk-off solo homer lifted Binghamton to a 5-4 win against Bowie. Zach Lutz’s three-run homer highlighted a six-run eighth that pulled Las Vegas even at 6, but the 51s suffered a 9-7 loss to Colorado Springs after Robert Carson surrendered three ninth-inning runs.

Savannah headed into its All-Star break on a six-game winning streak after routing Greenville, 8-0. Gabriel Ynoa tossed five scoreless innings to pick up his South Atlantic League-leading eighth win. Greg Pron’s two-run double in the fourth opened the scoring. Florida State product Jayce Boyd went 2-for-2 with three walks. Boyd, who likely is being promoted to St. Lucie after Savannah’s All-Star break, was 11-for-13 with six walks and two homers in the four-game series against Greenville.

• From the bloggers … Rising Apple takes exception to Costas’ characterization of the Mets’ walk-off celebration as an indicator of the decline of civilization. … Ninety-seven percent of Sunday's Mets game was sublimely awful. But the other three percent was awfully sublime, Faith and Fear writes.

BIRTHDAYS: Shortstop Brian Ostrosser, who appeared in four games for the Mets in 1973, was born on this date in 1949 in Ontario, Canada.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Off to the A 

— Zack wheeler (@Wheelerpro45) June 16, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Are you ready to pull the plug on Jordany Valdespin’s second-base audition?

LAS VEGAS 11, COLORADO SPRINGS 5: Rafael Montero allowed five runs (one earned) in 5 1/3 innings in his return to Triple-A. Wilmer Flores, Zach Lutz and Rylan Sandoval all homered in the seventh against Steven Hensley. Andrew Brown earlier went deep. The 51s committed four errors -- two by shortstop Brandon Hicks and one apiece by Flores at second base and Montero. Ike Davis went 1-for-4 with a walk, RBI and two strikeouts and is hitting .211 since a demotion. Box

BINGHAMTON 7, BOWIE 3: Binghamton jumped on Bowie early, taking a 6-1 lead after four. Travis Taijeron and Allan Dykstra each hit homers. Logan Verrett (8-2) picked up the win. Box

SAVANNAH 7, GREENVILLE 2: Savannah jumped on Greenville for four runs in the first. Jayce Boyd, Maikis De La Cruz and Cole Frenzel each had RBIs in the inning. On the mound, Luis Cessa tossed seven innings of two-run ball to improve to 4-2. Box

LAS VEGAS 8, TACOMA 6: Zach Lutz, playing in his first game since injuring an oblique on May 26, hit a two-out, walk-off three-run homer in the ninth to lift Vegas. Newly demoted Robert Carson had suffered a blown save in the top half of the inning, surrendering a three-run single with Tacoma down to its last strike as the Rainiers took a 6-4 lead. Ike Davis went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and two walks, including a base on balls ahead of Lutz's game-ending homer. Mike Baxter went 2-for-4. Wilmer Flores went 3-for-5, including an RBI single in the ninth. The three runs charged to Carson were unearned because of a throwing error by shortstop Brandon Hicks earlier in the ninth. Box

BINGHAMTON 6, TRENTON 5: Danny Muno's three-run homer highlifted a four-run second inning against Mikey O'Brien. Cesar Puello followed with a single, moved to second on a botched pickoff and scored when Allan Dykstra singled off the glove of shortstop Carmen Angelini. Erik Goeddel (6-2) surrendered two runs in the bottom half of the frame, but no other damage while working six innings and striking out a season-high eight. With two outs in the sixth, Goeddel issued a walk and surrendered a single. He capped his night, though, by striking out Kevin Mahoney to preserve a 4-2 lead. Binghamton tacked on a pair of runs in the eighth against reliever Danny Burawa. Left fielder Ramon Flores dropped a fly ball from Richard Lucas and Blake Forsythe walked. Wilfredo Tovar then laced a two-run single. B-Mets reliever Chase Huchingson allowed three straight to reach with two outs in the eighth. Jose Pirela cut Binghamton’s lead to three with an RBI single. Jack Leathersich entered with two runners on and surrendered a single to Flores. Neil Medchill attempted to score from second on the play, but was thrown out by left fielder Joe Bonfe. Medchill barreled Forsythe at the plate, but the catcher held on to the ball to end the inning. Jeff Walters pitched the ninth and surrendered a two-run homer to Kyle Roller, trimming the lead to one. Walters rebounded to strike out Angelini and secure his league-leading 16th save. Puello left the game after getting thrown out at second base in the seventh. He walked off under his own power. Josh Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a first-inning single. The B-Mets are undefeated in the last nine games Goeddel has started. Binghamton (39-25) has won 21 of it last 28. Box

ST. LUCIE 4, CLEARWATER 2 (10 innings): Dustin Lawley hit a two-run homer in the 10th as the Mets (33-29) won their third straight. Aderlin Rodriguez had a two-out single before Lawley ripped his team-leading 12th homer. Chasen Bradford struck out Maikel Franco with runners at first and second in the ninth to escape the jam. Bradford earned his third win. Hamilton Bennett allowed back-to-back singles with two outs in the 10th before striking out Kyrell Hudson looking to end the game for his fourth save. Alex Panteliodis pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs and nine hits. Estarlin Morel pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief. Rodriguez had an RBI single to score Matt Reynolds in the first and Cam Maron singled to plate Charley Thurber in the second. Box

ASHEVILLE 4, SAVANNAH 3 (8 innings)
SAVANNAH 1, ASHEVILLE 0 (11 innings): Brandon Nimmo's bases-loaded walk in the 11th forced in the winning run as Savannah (38-26) split the doubleheader. Starter Logan Taylor tossed six scoreless innings. Paul Sewald and Bret Mitchell (2-2) combined for five scoreless relief innings. The Gnats lost the first game in extra innings when Beck Wheeler (0-3) surrendered an eighth-inning run. Starter Gabriel Ynoa allowed three runs in the sixth after Savannah took an early 3-0 lead. Box 1, Box 2

Compiled from team reports

Right-hander Matt Bowman was unsure in March whether he would break camp with low-A Savannah. He suspected he might have to wait until Brooklyn started play in June in order to begin his regular season.

Now, Bowman has breezed past Savannah to high-A St. Lucie. He and second-round pick Matt Reynolds are the only 2012 Mets draft picks to already have reached the Florida State League.

“I’m incredibly happy about it,” said Bowman, who is a combined 7-0 with a 2.50 ERA in nine starts between the two Class A levels. “Going into spring training I was hoping to make the Savannah team as a starter. I actually thought I might be going to Brooklyn as a starter because I was piggybacking last year. And I knew the Brooklyn staff last year was so successful that I thought it would be hard to crack that rotation. I was very happy to go to Savannah. And I was more than a little surprised when they told me I was going up here to Port St. Lucie.”

Bowman, drafted in the 13th round out of Princeton after his junior year, should complete his degree in economics this fall. He also spent last fall at the Ivy League institution after pitching for Brooklyn during the summer.

Princeton students are required to write junior- and senior-year theses. Bowman wrote his first thesis on MLB ticket pricing on the secondary market in conjunction with the Phillies. He plans to pick his senior-year thesis shortly and work on it in the mornings during the baseball season, since the fall alone will not be enough time to complete it.

Another Princeton graduate, ex-Met Chris Young, also chose a baseball topic for his thesis. He studied the impact of Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in baseball on the tone of race coverage in general in The New York Times during that era.

“It might look into sabermetrics,” Bowman said about his thesis ideas. “I know that doing a baseball topic will keep me interested. I’ve also looked into certain things like different ways we can pay for college tuition in national programs. But I think if I’m going to stay interested, I’ll probably do another baseball topic.”

Bowman currently throws five pitches, but plans to scrap his changeup once he gets more comfortable with his split-finger fastball. He touched 94-95 mph in Brooklyn last year while working a few innings in relief of the starter every fifth day, but rarely shows that velocity this year as a starter -- mostly because his fastball tends to flatten out and stay up in the zone with the extra oomph. He will show it occasionally with two strikes.

Bowman’s most interesting facet may be his delivery, which is similar in style to Tim Lincecum’s.

“It’s a little bit of coincidence, a little bit of conscious decision-making,” Bowman said. “In high school I was a pretty standard-looking pitcher. But when I tried to get a little extra on my pitches, I’d do that lean back and it would look pretty similar. And then I actually saw him while I was in high school, after I started doing that. And I thought, ‘Wow, it’s very impressive that he’s so small, but he can throw the ball so hard.’

“I sort of used that as a model for a little bit. I tried to mimic some of the things he did, but I think I almost tried to be too much like him. He is certainly more athletic and flexible and has better body control than I do. So I sort of toned it down. Now I’m sort of at a happy medium where it’s a little bit of my style and there are similarities in look, but certainly not stuff.”

Organization leaders

Average: Andrew Brown, Vegas, .371; Jayce Boyd, Savannah, .354; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, .346; Omar Quintanilla, Vegas, .328; ; Allan Dykstra, Binghamton, .306; Josh Satin, Vegas, .303; Josh Rodriguez, Binghamton, .300; Jamie Hoffmann, Vegas, .297; Cesar Puello, Binghamton, .296.

Homers: Dustin Lawley, St. Lucie, 10; Aderlin Rodriguez, St. Lucie, 9; Josh Satin, Vegas, 8; Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Vegas, 7; Cesar Puello, Binghamton, 7.

RBI: Dustin Lawley, St. Lucie, 37; Aderlin Rodriguez, St. Lucie, 37; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 36; Wilmer Flores, Vegas, 32.

Steals: Alonzo Harris, Binghamton, 13; Cesar Puello, Binghamton, 12; Darrell Ceciliani, Binghamton, 12; Cory Vaughn, Binghamton, 7; Danny Muno, Binghamton, 6.

ERA: Rainy Lara, St. Lucie, 1.42; Bowman, St. Lucie, 2.50; Collin McHugh, Vegas, 2.74; Noah Syndergaard, St. Lucie, 2.86; Rafael Montero, Vegas, 3.03; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 3.07; Gabriel Ynoa, Savannah, 3.19; Angel Cuan, St. Lucie, 3.69; Zack Wheeler, Vegas, 4.13.

Wins: Matt Bowman, St. Lucie, 7; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 6; Gabriel Ynoa, Savannah, 6; Angel Cuan, St. Lucie, 5; Rafael Montero, Binghamton, 5.

Saves: Jeff Walters, Binghamton, 12; Bret Mitchell, Savannah, 9; Beck Wheeler, Savannah, 5; T.J. Chism, St. Lucie, 4; Jack Leathersich, Binghamton, 3.

Strikeouts: Rafael Montero, Vegas, 67; Matt Bowman, St. Lucie, 59; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 54; Zack Wheeler, Vegas, 53; Noah Syndergaard, St. Lucie, 52.

Short hops

• Omar Quintanilla, who could be called up to replace Ruben Tejada if the Mets shortstop continues to struggle, has produced stellar May numbers. Quintanilla is hitting .403 with one homer, nine RBIs and 11 walks in 23 games this month. One complication for a Quintanilla call-up: He is not on the 40-man roster.

• Left-hander Angel Cuan was named Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. Cuan, signed in 2007 out of Panama, has tossed 14 scoreless innings over his past two starts.

• Brandon Nimmo went 0-for-5 Tuesday with Savannah, in his first game since April 29. Nimmo, the organization’s 2011 first-round pick, had dealt with a bruised hand and then a back issue. In a drought spanning the absence, Nimmo is now hitless in his last 25 at-bats. But because of a torrid start with the Gnats, Nimmo nonetheless is hitting .305.

• Zach Lutz has joined Andrew Brown on the Las Vegas DL with an oblique injury. Both are on the 40-man roster, limiting the healthy options the Mets have if they want to make a roster substitution.

• Savannah first baseman Jayce Boyd is hitting .354. That is ranked first in the South Atlantic League, narrowly ahead of teammate Kevin Plawecki (.346). Boyd, a Florida State product, has been limited to DH duty in 10 starts since May 15 because of a shoulder issue. The Mets are not expected to promote players, including Boyd and Plawecki, until the first half of the SAL season is completed.

• Pedro Feliciano remains battling sporadic food-poisoning symptoms. He is at the Mets’ Port St. Lucie complex, participating in workouts as tolerable to preserve his arm strength.

• Francisco Pena, son of Yankees coach Tony Pena, is hitting .385 with four homers and 10 RBIs in eight games since a promotion to Las Vegas.

• Michael Fulmer, who has had a slow return from spring-training surgery to repair a torn meniscus, threw an inning in an extended spring training game Tuesday.

FIRST PITCH: Growing up in Connecticut, where fans divide their allegiances between New England and New York sports, Matt Harvey picked the Patriots, Rangers and Yankees as his teams.

Boyhood idol Paul O’Neill is long retired, but Harvey -- who used to attend Subway Series game at Shea Stadium -- will get to face the Bombers for the first time tonight. Harvey (5-0, 1.93 ERA) opposes Hiroki Kuroda (6-3, 2.67) as the Mets attempt to win three straight games for the first time since posting a season-high three-game winning streak April 6-8.

Joe Girardi said he has admired Harvey since viewing his major league debut last July 26. Girardi said he called a friend who is a Mets fan after watching Harvey strike out 11 in 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks to relay how special a pitcher the Mets had promoted.

Harvey is bidding to improve to 6-0.

The best start in franchise history is 10-0 by Terry Leach in 1987. The only better starts this millennium: Dillon Gee opened 2011 with a 7-0 record and R.A. Dickey was 6-0 in 2010.

If Harvey is spared a loss, he will tie Armando Reynoso’s team record for most consecutive starts without a loss to begin a season (11 in 1997), according to ESPN Stats & Information. Harvey enters tonight’s outing tied with six others at 10 starts, including Dwight Gooden (1988) and Kenny Rogers (1999).

Tuesday’s news reports:

• Daniel Murphy delivered a two-out, tiebreaking single in the eighth against David Robertson to lift the Mets to a 2-1 Memorial Day win in the Subway Series opener at Citi Field. Murphy had been robbed of a two-run homer in the sixth when center fielder Brett Gardner reached over the wall to take away his shot.

The Yankees had been 22-0 when leading after six innings.

David Wright evened the score at 1 with a homer against Phil Hughes in the seventh. Wright produced his first long ball at Citi Field since the final home game of 2012, snapping a 27-game drought. He now has nine career homers against the Yankees, passing Mike Piazza and Cliff Floyd for the most in franchise history by a Met.

Read more on Wright in Newsday.

Jordany Valdespin, who walked as a pinch hitter, scored the tiebreaking run on Murphy’s single. Terry Collins noted Valdespin showed discipline in that plate appearance -- not chasing pitches out of the strike zone, which he had been doing only a week earlier.

Jonathon Niese became the latest Mets starter to get a hard-luck no-decision. Niese limited the Yankees to a sixth-inning run, when Gardner had a leadoff triple and scored on Laynce Nix’s single. The southpaw’s line: 7 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

Niese’s performance comes on the heels of Shaun Marcum’s no-decision Sunday night despite limiting the Atlanta Braves to two runs in seven innings. Jeremy Hefner had the identical fate Friday despite allowing two runs in six innings.

Read more on Niese in Newsday.

One down note: Ike Davis went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts -- a sobering encore to Sunday’s tiebreaking two-run single. A demotion remains distinctly possible in the coming days.

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

• The paid attendance of 32,911 was by far the lowest in the history of the Subway Series, which began in 1997. The previous low had been 36,372 at Shea Stadium on June 28, 2003, when the afternoon game was played in the Bronx and a rainout makeup was played in Flushing in the evening. The only other sub-40,000 attendance also was a rainout makeup: 37,305 for Game 1 of a split doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on June 27, 2004.

The historically low demand also is reflected in ticket prices. Writes Jared Diamond in the Journal:

Even with phenom Matt Harvey pitching for the Mets on Tuesday, the average ticket on the secondary market for Tuesday's game costs $112.49. Last season, the average ticket on the secondary market for the three Subway Series games at Citi Field all cost more than $120. (In fairness, last year's games were all on the weekend.)

The situation in the Bronx looks even worse, with the two games at Yankee Stadium commanding the cheapest average ticket price for any Subway Series game in the past four years. The average seat for Wednesday's game costs $76.40 -- less than tickets for the teams' two spring-training games in April 2012 ($77.99 at the Yankees' home in Tampa, $77.79 at the Mets' complex in Port St. Lucie).

Read more in Newsday.

• Murphy flipped his bat after delivering the game-deciding RBI single, but Collins and Murphy dismissed it as exuberance over a desperately needed hit for a struggling team. Collins did not think it was akin to Valdespin’s homer admiration in a lopsided game against the Pittsburgh Pirates that resulted in retaliation the following day. Girardi dismissed Murphy’s expression as an issue.

• Bobby Parnell, despite an Ichiro Suzuki four-pitch walk, rolled through the ninth for his eighth save. Both of Parnell’s blown saves this season involved defensive misadventures behind him -- Ruben Tejada’s eighth-inning throwing error in Colorado on April 16, then Collin Cowgill breaking the wrong way on a fly ball in an eventual 15-inning loss in Miami on April 29.

Writes Bob Klapisch in the Record:

Parnell’s 0.90 WHIP is lower than the Braves’ Craig Kimbrel and better than eight of the NL’s top 10 saves leaders. But you won’t get Parnell to brag about his success. To the contrary, he’s been humbled by the ugly seasons in the past and in close contact with his darker angels.

Read more in Newsday.

• The Mets will recognize retiring Mariano Rivera pregame today. Rivera met with Mets employees and select fans in the Jackie Robinson Rotunda on Monday afternoon. Read more in the Times, Star-Ledger, Daily News and Newsday.

• After seven straight games with Murphy in the leadoff spot, Tejada assumed that role Monday. Mets leadoff batters entered the series with a league-worst .266 on-base percentage. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Zack Wheeler was charged with five runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks in an 80-pitch performance spanning four innings. He surrendered a pair of homers. The Mets are expected to wait until mid-June, once the Super 2 deadline has passed, to promote Wheeler.

"In my opinion, he's ready," Las Vegas manager Wally Backman told Brian Costa in the Journal. "It is nice to have him so you can season him a little bit more. We want him to go there and be successful. But, in my opinion, he's done everything he has to do to get to where he needs to go.”

Contrasting Harvey and Wheeler to Costa, Backman added: "Harvey is a little more outspoken right now. Zack is a little more quiet, but he definitely has the competitiveness in him. It is two different personalities, but I believe they're going to compete against each other. I think Zack has the same thought process about being the best."

Said Wheeler: “I think I'm ready, but it is really not my decision."

Read more in Newsday.

• Catcher Francisco Pena had two homers and four RBIs in Las Vegas’ 9-7 comeback win. Pena is hitting .385 since making his Triple-A debut 10 days ago. With Andrew Brown and Zach Lutz both out with oblique injuries, Brandon Hicks played first base for a second straight day, while Josh Satin served as DH. Neither Hicks (.130) nor Satin (.294) is on the 40-man roster.

Josh Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch in the ninth as Binghamton beat Portland, 6-5. Gabriel Ynoa allowed one run in eight innings to improve to 6-2 as Savannah beat Greenville, 4-1.

Read the full minor league recap here.

• Michael Salfino in the Journal notes the winning percentage differential at the time of the Subway Series is the biggest ever between the Mets and Yankees.

• The best ERA among former UNC teammates in the Subway Series belongs to the Yankees’ Adam Warren (1.14 ERA), not Harvey, notes Daniel Barbarisi in the Journal. “Well, he’s thrown a few more innings than I have,” Warren told Barbarisi.

• Read more on Harvey facing the Yankees in Newsday.

• Analyst Keith Hernandez was cited by Richard Sandomir in the Times for referring to a broken bat as a “dead soldier” on the Memorial Day telecast. An SNY spokesman told Sandomir: “We’ll address the matter with Keith. It was an honest mistake and a poor choice of words.” Read more in the Daily News.

• From the bloggers … John Delcos at Mets Report discusses which Mets could be peddled before the trading deadline.

BIRTHDAYS: Ex-Met/Yankee Ryota “Rocket Boy” Igarashi turns 34. He is pitching for Softbank in Japan. … Retired catcher Mike DeFelice, who also managed two years at Kingsport in the Mets system, is 44.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Thank you, #Mets, for helping us get back to having first place to ourselves! #RedSox

— J-Law (@jclawrence78) May 28, 2013

YOU’RE UP: After taking Game 1, and with Matt Harvey on the mound Tuesday, how confident are you the Mets will have bragging rights when this season’s reduced, four-game Subway Series is completed?

LAS VEGAS 13, SALT LAKE 9: Omar Quintanilla had a three-run homer and Josh Satin and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had solo shots as Las Vegas (23-25) pounded out 16 hits. Six starters had multi-hit games: Collin Cowgill (2-for-5), Satin (2-for-4, 1 BB, 2 RBIs), Wilmer Flores (2-for-4, 1 RBI), Jamie Hoffmann (2-for-4, 1 BB), Quintanilla (4-for-4, 3 RBIs) and Francisco Pena (2-for-5, 2 RBIs). 51s starter D.J. Mitchell allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings. Ex-major leaguer Kip Wells surrendered the homers to Satin and Nieuwenhuis. Zach Lutz departed in the fourth with an oblique injury. Box

BINGHAMTON 5, PORTLAND 0: Rafael Montero, Chase Huchingson and Jack Leathersich combined on a four-hit shutout. Allan Dykstra and Darrell Ceciliani homered in a three-run eighth to chase knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. The B-Mets had opened the scoring in the first when Josh Rodriguez singled, advanced to second on a hit by pitch and scored two wild pitches later. Rodriguez (1-for-3, 1 BB) also scored in the third on a wild pitch. Montero (5-3) allowed four hits and two walks while striking out a season-high eight in six innings. It was Montero's first start with the B-Mets (28-22) since returning from a spot start with Las Vegas. He escaped a first-inning jam with two runners in scoring position and none out. Box

ST. LUCIE 8, BRADENTON 2: Travis Taijeron went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs, including a two-run single in the fifth that gave St. Lucie a 5-2 lead. Rylan Sandoval (2-for-3, 2 BB) drove in the go-ahead run earlier in the frame. Sandoval also scored twice Sunday. Starter Matt Bowman improved to 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA since a promotion from Savannah. He allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out six in seven innings. Bowman is 7-0 in nine starts between the two Class A levels this season. Hamilton Bennett and Ryan Fraser contributed no-hit relief innings for St. Lucie (28-20). Box

AUGUSTA 3, SAVANNAH 1 (12 innings): In his second inning of relief, Hunter Carnavale surrendered two runs in the 12th, including the tiebreaking run on Joseph Rapp's RBI single. The Gnats had rallied to tie the score at 1 in the eighth when Kevin Plawecki plated Yucarybert De La Cruz with a line-drive single to center. Savannah starter Luis Cessa allowed one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings in a hard-luck no-decision. After a scoreless ninth from Bret Mitchell (1.17 ERA), the Gnats (28-20) nearly posted a walk-off win in the bottom half. Augusta's Mason McVay hit Cole Frenzel with a pitch. Frenzel then departed for pinch runner Eudy Pina. After a walk to Stefan Sabol, Augusta inserted closer Tyler Mizenko. He proceeded to load the bases with none out on Nelfi Zapata's single. But neither Phillip Evans nor Yucarybert De La Cruz could produce the game-winning RBI. Each instead forced runners out at home with groundballs. Mizenko then coaxed an inning-ending groundout from Maikis De La Cruz. Jayce Boyd went 3-for-5 with a walk in the loss to improve his on-base percentage to .430, ranked third in the South Atlantic League. Box

Compiled from team reports

One week after potential call-up Andrew Brown suffered an oblique injury, corner infielder Zach Lutz suffered the same fate.

Lutz was forced to depart Las Vegas' 13-9 win Sunday against Salt Lake with the injury.

Lutz started at third base Sunday, and has only played in four games at first base this season. But he is on the 40-man roster and would have been a viable call-up, even for a backup role, if Ike Davis were to be demoted.

Lutz is batting .277 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 147 at-bats with the 51s this season. He had been hitting .343 with three homers and 14 RBIs in May.

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

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

How did it happen so rapidly?

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

Among its current contributors:

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

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

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

Read the Mets-Braves series preview here.

Friday’s news reports:

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

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

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

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

Read more on Wheeler in the Daily News.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Writes columnist Bill Madden in the Daily News:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read more on Hefner in the Record.

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

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

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

TWEET OF THE DAY:

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

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

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

CHICAGO

FIRST PITCH: For the first time since May 1-2, the Mets have a two-game winning streak.

Jeremy Hefner (0-4, 4.61 ERA) looks to keep the roll going when he opposes Chicago Cubs right-hander Scott Feldman (3-3, 2.53) at 1:05 p.m. ET today at Wrigley Field.

“Hef’s been pitching good enough,” Terry Collins said. “We’ve got to start putting some points on the board so these guys have something to work with.”

Saturday’s news reports:

• Ike Davis does not have many days remaining to prove he deserves to avoid a demotion, ESPNNewYork.com has learned. Davis did snap a hitless skid at 24 at-bats Friday. Andrew Brown played first base for Triple-A Las Vegas for the first time on Friday, and would seem the most likely call-up if a swap is made. Brown does have to stay in the minors for another five days before potentially returning, since he only was demoted Monday, when Rick Ankiel arrived. Zach Lutz and Josh Satin would appear less-likely alternatives. That also would appear to signal that the Mets do not want to disrupt Lucas Duda in left field, since any potential Davis absence would not be indefinite.

• Matt Harvey took the Mets’ offensive woes into his own hands, driving in the go-ahead run in the seventh after Collins passed on using a pinch hitter. Harvey improved to 5-0 and snapped a four-start streak of no-decisions as the Mets beat the Cubs, 3-2, at Wrigley Field.

Harvey became the second starting pitcher in the majors this season with a go-ahead RBI in his win in the seventh inning or later. The other: Clayton Kershaw against San Francisco on Opening Day. Harvey is the first Mets pitcher to do so since Sid Fernandez in 1993. It was only the second RBI by a Mets pitcher this season.

Bobby Parnell tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save, although Anthony Rizzo put a charge into a ball that got knocked down by the winds blowing in at Wrigley Field. Harvey and Parnell are a combined 9-0 with a 1.44 ERA; the rest of the Mets pitching staff is 7-23 with a 5.35 ERA, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Cubs third-base coach David Bell took responsibility for Darwin Barney getting thrown out at the plate in the eighth by right fielder Marlon Byrd with the would-be tying run. ”Obviously it is disappointing. It turned out it wasn't a very close play," Bell told ESPNChicago.com. "I just watched the replay again and it wasn't close. As a third-base coach you always want to make the right decision, and that clearly wasn't the right decision."

After allowing two first-inning runs as the Cubs jumped on his fastball, Harvey changed his approach in the following frames. He threw eight first-pitch fastballs the first time through the lineup, then only eight first-pitch fastballs to the next 18 hitters he faced, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Forty-four percent of his pitches overall the first time through the order were offspeed pitches. That increased to 62 percent the second turn through the order and 67 percent the third time through.

“They were coming out swinging,” Harvey said.

Harvey has allowed five hits or fewer in 15 of his first 20 career starts, the most in franchise history. Nolan Ryan, Dwight Gooden, Randy Tate and Fernandez are tied for second (13 apiece).

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

• Travis d’Arnaud will be required to wear a boot and avoid placing pressure on his left foot for two more weeks, doctor Struan Coleman advised after examining the top catching prospect Friday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. The Mets had hoped d’Arnaud would be cleared to begin weight-bearing activity after suffering a fractured first metatarsal on April 17 on a foul ball while catching.

Since d’Arnaud needs more Triple-A seasoning once he ultimately returns to play (perhaps in six weeks), he may end up no more than a September call-up to the majors at this point. Because of knee and foot injuries, d’Arnaud has played in only 79 Pacific Coast League games over two seasons.

The news was positive for Zack Wheeler yesterday. The Mets have slotted him back into Las Vegas’ rotation on Wednesday at Iowa.

Read more on d’Arnaud and Wheeler in Newsday and the Daily News.

• Cubs outfielder Scott Hairston told ESPNNewYork.com he had no hard feelings about how Sandy Alderson handled his free agency, although he questioned how much the Mets really wanted him.

• Satin had a three-run homer and Matt Fox earned the win in his organization debut as Las Vegas beat Omaha, 7-3. Jenrry Mejia allowed two runs on five hits and three walks in three innings in his first official rehab appearance with St. Lucie. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Keith Law projects the Mets will select California high school first baseman Dominic Smith with the 11th overall pick in next month’s draft.

• Read more on Davis’ struggles in the Star-Ledger.

• Jose Reyes offered this to Dan Martin in the Post about Jordany Valdespin:

“I talk to Valdespin almost every day,” Reyes said. “He’s a very good friend of mine … I don’t know what’s going on over there. I don’t want to touch that. Valdespin, I support him in everything he [does] because he’s a good friend of mine. Other than that, I don’t know what’s going on over there.”

Mookie Wilson told the Daily News that Valdespin needs a chance to succeed without a bull’s-eye n his back.

“Give the kid a chance,” Wilson said. “He is a very spirited kid, very young and has a lot to learn, no question about that. But some things are being blown out of proportion. I think we need to back up and not overanalyze everything.”

• From the bloggers … Faith and Fear in Flushing discovers everything works on Harvey Day. … John Delcos at Mets Report asserts the Mets should demote Davis.

BIRTHDAYS: Brooklyn-born Nelson Figueroa is 39.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Hey "guy who wants to give me a public scolding about being on my cellphone in the elevator", I'm not listening because I'm busy on my phone

— Collin McHugh (@Collin_McHugh) May 17, 2013

YOU’RE UP: Would you be OK with Andrew Brown at first base? Or would you prefer Lucas Duda at first base and Brown available as an outfielder if Ike Davis’ demotion materializes?

CHICAGO -- Although Ike Davis snapped an 0-for-24 skid Friday in a 3-2 win against the Chicago Cubs, the internal discussion about potentially demoting the first baseman has only intensified, ESPNNewYork.com has learned.

In fact, Davis may not have much more than the weekend series at Wrigley Field to show enough to stave off a demotion, according to a team source. The front office is said to be more eager to demote Davis than Terry Collins, who fought for Davis to remain at the major league level last year.

One telltale sign a change may be coming: Andrew Brown played first base Friday with Triple-A Las Vegas after previously playing only outfield for the 51s this season. Brown actually has played more minor league games in his career at first base than any other position. He went 3-for-15 during a stint with the Mets that ended Monday when Rick Ankiel was signed.

Brown, who is on the 40-man roster, would need to remain in the minors for 10 days, so he could not be swapped for Davis until the middle of next week. Zach Lutz also is on the 40-man roster and would be a candidate, but the organization likely would view Brown as the best choice. Josh Satin, although he is hitting .303 with the Pacific Coast League club, is not on the roster. That puts him at a decided disadvantage, even though he has been Las Vegas' primary first baseman.

Davis is hitting .160 with four homers and nine RBIs in 131 at-bats this season.

ALBUQUERQUE 8, LAS VEGAS 5: Chris Schwinden hit leadoff batter Matt Angle, then walked No. 2 batter Alfredo Amezaga to open the game. He ultimately surrendered four first-inning runs and the 51s (18-19) never dug out from the deficit. Schwinden (2-4) was charged with five runs in five innings. Las Vegas pulled within 4-2 in the second as Eric Campbell delivered an RBI triple and scored on an error. Collin Cowgill's fifth-inning RBI single pulled the 51s within 5-3. Reliever Greg Peavey surrendered two runs in the sixth. Wilmer Flores had a run-scoring double and Zach Lutz (3-for-4) had an RBI single in the ninth against Peter Moylan, but Campbell struck out with Andrew Brown at second base to end it. Box

BINGHAMTON 7, AKRON 3: The B-Mets (21-18) batted around and scored four runs in the eighth to break a 3-all tie. The inning consisted of three hits, four walks and two Akron wild pitches. After Wilfredo Tovar was thrown out at second base trying to stretch a leadoff hit into a double, Trey Haley struggled to find the strike zone. Haley walked the next three batters. Allan Dykstra then hit a groundball to first baseman Chun Chen. After Chen hesitated to throw home, it was too late to retire Dykstra and everybody was safe. Cory Vaughn followed with a broken-bat infield hit to give Binghamton a 5-3 lead. Two more wild pitches from the Akron bullpen pushed the lead to four. Against B-Mets starter Logan Verrett, Chen hit a two-run single for an early 2-0 lead. After getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, however, Verrett settled down. He retired 16 of his final 18 batters and threw seven innings in a no-decision. The only other damage against the righty came in the fifth, when Kyle Bellows hit a solo homer to put Akron ahead, 3-0. With two men on base against Paolo Espino in the bottom of that frame, Tovar singled home Vaughn for the first B-Mets run. Danny Muno then tied the score with a two-run double. Jack Leathersich (1-0) earned his first Double-A victory. The lefty threw two scoreless innings. Box

ST. LUCIE 4, BREVARD COUNTY 0: Matt Bowman and T.J. Chism combined on a one-hit shutout. Bowman (2-0) allowed just a two-out single to left field by Manatees center fielder Chadwin Stang in the third inning. He struck out nine and walked one in seven innings. Bowman retired the final 12 batters he faced and retired the side in order five times. Chism retired all six batters in two scoreless innings, fanning three. The Mets jumped to a lead in the first on a two-run single by shortstop Brandon Hicks, who played in his first game with St. Lucie (23-13) after being sidelined since the end of spring training with a calf injury. Dustin Lawley’s double off the glove of Manatees third baseman T.J. Mittelstaedt scored T.J. Rivera and Hicks in the third. Rivera finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Hicks also went 2-for-4. Box

CHARLESTON 3, SAVANNAH 2: Gnats reliever Beck Wheeler entered for the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at 2 and surrendered consecutive singles that placed runners on the corners. After an intentional walk loaded the bases with none out, Kelvin De Leon produced a game-ending sacrifice fly. Savannah had evened the score in the sixth when Kevin Plawecki tripled and scored on Cole Frenzel's single. Gnats starter Gabriel Ynoa limited the RiverDogs to two runs in 6 1/3 innings. Hunter Carnevale tossed 1 2/3 scoreless relief innings. Frenzel drove in both runs for the Gnats (21-15). 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?

LAS VEGAS 3, ROUND ROCK 2: The 51s enjoyed a walk-off win as pinch-runner Brian Bixler scored from second on a strikeout. Catcher Robinson Chirinos threw to first baseman Chris McGuiness to complete a Zach Lutz strikeout after the pitch went to the backstop and the plate was left uncovered. Round Rock had pulled even at 2 a half-inning earlier on an RBI single by Chirinos against Greg Burke. Collin McHugh received a no-decision despite tossing seven scoreless innings. McHugh surrendered five hits and no walks. Josh Satin had opened the scoring with a solo homer in the first. Las Vegas won despite producing only three hits. Box

TRENTON 5, BINGHAMTON 1: B-Mets starter Rafael Montero cruised through six innings, but faltered late as the Thunder scored four runs in the seventh. The B-Mets were held hitless for the final seven frames. Facing Trenton starter Jose Ramirez, Cesar Puello got the B-Mets on the board in the second inning by blasting his second homer this season. The long ball extended Puello's hitting streak to 14 games, the longest active streak in Double-A. It proved to be Binghamton’s only run. Ramirez retired the final seven batters he faced before exiting after four innings. Montero dominated the Thunder through six innings. He matched a season-high with eight strikeouts and allowed two baserunners, on a walk and single. His fortunes changed in the seventh. Jose Pirela worked a nine-pitch walk. J.R. Murphy followed by lining a single. With runners on second and third, Slade Heathcott bounced a two-run, go-ahead single up the middle that ended Montero’s night. Josh Edgin entered and issued a two-out walk to Neil Medchill. The southpaw paid for prolonging the inning when Ali Castillo pulled a two-run triple down the first-base line. Trenton added another run off Edgin on an RBI single from Heathcott in the eighth. Thunder reliever Josh Romanski (2-0) struck out four over three perfect innings and Danny Burawa allowed only one runner in two scoreless frames to collect his first save. At one point, the three Trenton pitchers combined to retire 20 consecutive B-Mets. Montero (3-3) allowed three runs on three hits in his third straight loss. He struck out eight and walked two. Box

ST. LUCIE 13, DAYTONA 3: Matt Bowman pitched six innings and struck out seven to earn a win in his Florida State League debut. The Mets (20-11) won their fourth straight game. Bowman allowed three runs and six hits and issued one walk. The Mets jumped to a 3-0 lead in the fourth. Dustin Lawley and Travis Taijeron had solo homers. Charley Thurber ripped an RBI triple to extend the lead. Aderlin Rodriguez later drilled his fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth. The Mets pulled away with an eight-run seventh inning, highlighted by Thurber's three-run double. Box

SAVANNAH 9, HICKORY 6: Eudy Pina had two homers and four RBIs and Phillip Evans added a two-run shot in the seventh. Starter Gabriel Ynoa surrendered four homers in five innings, but earned the win after the Gnats took a 6-5 lead in the sixth on Jayce Boyd's RBI single. Julian Hilario and Tyler Vanderheiden contributed scoreless relief innings. Bret Mitchell earned his fourth save after walking two and striking out two in a scoreless ninth. Box

Compiled from team reports

Speedster Alonzo Harris took over the leadoff spot with Class A St. Lucie last May, coinciding with a 50-game suspension for teammate Danny Muno. Harris proceeded to hit .287 with eight homers, 42 RBIs and 40 steals and earned the organization’s Sterling Award as the top player for the Florida State League club.

The 23-year-old Harris, a 39^th-round pick in 2007 out of McComb High in Mississippi, has opened this season with Double-A Binghamton.

A 5-foot-10, 160-pound outfielder, Harris is hitting .250 with a homer, five RBIs and two steals through 48 at-bats as a B-Met.

Harris is a natural shortstop. The first time he played outfield came in the Mississippi Senior All-Star Game in 2007.

The Mets used him nearly exclusively at second base through 2010. Now, Harris has transitioned to nearly full time outfielder -- primarily center field, with some left field.

“It was easy, actually,” Harris said. “I didn’t have to worry or think about turning double plays. … It was an easy transition. The only thing different is making the throws. I was at second base for four years with the Mets. When I made my throws from second to first base, I had time for a nice, easy flip. When I’m in the outfield I have to make a longer throw, so my transition from throwing that short distance to stretching my arm out was the only big difference I had.

“Everything else fell right into place, like I had been playing all my life.

He added: “If anything happened, they can put me in the infield. I’m ready to play infield at any time. I still take groundballs and stuff.”

Harris’ 2007 draft class with the Mets also included Lucas Duda (seventh round), Dillon Gee (21^st), Robert Carson (14^th) and Zach Lutz (fifth). So his visit to Citi Field last September to be recognized as St. Lucie’s Sterling Award winner was particularly exciting because he reunited with former minor league teammates.

“I know some of them,” Harris said about the Mets. “Well, most of them, because I played with them when I first started. To see the locker room and all the facilities, it opened my eyes. It made me want to work harder to get there, make that a permanent home.”

Harris is particularly close to Carson. They grew up 45 minutes apart in Mississippi. They only faced each other once in high school, though. Their ninth-grade years, Harris lined out to center field against Carson.

“I call him my ‘little big brother,’” Harris said. “He was born a week after me. He lives 45 minutes away. We spend almost every day together. We’re really close. We work out and all that stuff. He’s like family -- basically a brother, really.”

Harris has played in Panama each of the last two winter-league seasons. He said that taught him concentration as well as how to read pitchers’ moves while attempting to steal.

“The first year, it helped me with my concentration, because it rained every day,” Harris said. “You would never know when you would be able to play. You might be getting ready for the game, and the next thing you know two hours later you had to get ready again. It was a mental learning situation for me. My mind was definitely prepared to play at any moment.”

Organization leaders

Average: Brandon Nimmo, Savannah, .447; Jayce Boyd, Savannah, .383; Josh Satin, Vegas, .380; Juan Lagares, Vegas, .375; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, .375; Andrew Brown, Vegas, .347; Gilbert Gomez, St. Lucie, .333; T.J. Rivera, St. Lucie, .319; Jeff Glenn, Savannah, .310; Josh Rodriguez, Binghamton, .297.

Homers: Josh Satin, Vegas, 4; Juan Lagares, Vegas, 2; Dustin Lawley, St. Lucie, 2; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 2.

RBI: T.J. Rivera, St. Lucie, 13; Josh Satin, Vegas, 12; Jayce Boyd, Savannah, 11; Andrew Brown, Vegas, 11; Kevin Plawecki, Savannah, 11.

Steals: Cesar Puello, Binghamton, 5; Brian Bixler, Vegas, 3; Gilbert Gomez, St. Lucie, 3; Stefan Sabol, Savannah, 3.

ERA: Collin McHugh, Vegas, 0.50; Rainy Lara, Savannah, 0.79; Luis Cessa, Savannah, 1.54; Matt Bowman, Savannah, 1.59; Rafael Montero; Binghamton, 2.16; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 2.75; Jacob deGrom, Binghamton, 3.00; Hansel Robles, St. Lucie, 3.45; Erik Goeddel, Binghamton, 3.48; Domingo Tapia, St. Lucie, 3.55.

Wins: Mark Cohoon, Binghamton, 2; Angel Cuan, St. Lucie, 2; Collin McHugh, Vegas, 2; Rafael Montero, Binghamton, 2; Logan Verrett, Binghamton, 2.

Saves: Jeff Walters, Binghamton, 3; Hunter Carnevale, Savannah, 2.

Strikeouts: Rafael Montero, Binghamton, 21; Zack Wheeler, Vegas, 17; Collin McHugh, Vegas, 15.

Short hops

• Pedro Feliciano, who made his debut with Class A St. Lucie on Monday with a scoreless inning, does not have an out in his contract. Still, the Mets had asked Feliciano at the end of the spring training only to remain in the minors for a month.

• Injuries to Cory Mazzoni (elbow) and fill-in Luis Mateo (elbow/forearm) resulted in right-hander Jacob deGrom getting a call-up to start Wednesday’s game with Binghamton. DeGrom is a ninth-round pick out of Stetson University in 2010, where he played shortstop. DeGrom, 24, missed the 2011 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Mateo left Monday’s B-Mets game three pitches into the fourth inning with an elbow/forearm issue. Paul DePodesta said it was too soon to determine the severity of the injury.

“He dealt with some soreness in spring training as well and was better after a little rest,” DePodesta said.

• Partly out of necessity, and also motivated by the desire to expose him to the outfield to increase his versatility, corner infielder Zach Lutz has seen plenty of action in left field with Triple-A Las Vegas. In fact, the breakdown has been nearly 50-50 between outfield and third base. This is Lutz’s last year with minor league options, so he likely will have to make next year’s squad out of spring training as a versatile righty bat for the bench or be exposed to waivers.

Wilmer Flores, on the other hand, started for the first time at third base Monday but will remain consistently a second baseman with the 51s.

• Las Vegas starting pitchers have repeatedly failed to go deep into games, taxing the bullpen and resulting in the call-up of left-hander Adam Kolarek from Binghamton to spell the overtaxed bullpen. Among 51s starters, Carlos Torres and Chris Schwinden have averaged 4 1/3 innings and Darin Gorski 3 2/3 innings a start.

• A trio of top draft picks is off to a quick start with low-A Savannah. Brandon Nimmo, the 13^th overall pick in the 2011 draft, leads the South Atlantic League with a .447 average. Jayce Boyd (2012 sixth round, Florida State) ranks sixth in the league at .383. Kevin Plawecki (35^th overall pick in 2012, Purdue) ranks seventh at .375.