PHOENIX –Ike Davis is circling Labor Day on his calendar, but not in anticipation of a big holiday celebration.
The injured Mets first baseman yesterday said he will know by Labor Day whether the bone bruise in his left ankle needs surgery. If he waits any longer, he would increase his risk of missing the start of spring training in 2012.
Davis has stopped workouts in recent weeks, giving the ankle a chance to heal on its own.
“I’m just at the point where I could take four months off and it might heal, but if it doesn’t then I’m kind of [stuck],” Davis said last night before the Mets lost 4-3 to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Davis said there is no guarantee he would need an invasive microfracture procedure if doctors decide surgery is the best course of action. Even so, Davis would like to avoid surgery altogether.
“Once you have surgery you’re never going to be 100 percent again or the way it used to be,” said Davis, who sustained the injury three months ago when he collided with David Wright on a pop up in Colorado.
But at this point Davis has resigned himself to the possibility he will have the surgery.
“I’m just looking forward to having an answer,” he said.
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Dillon Gee had a third rough start in his last four, sending the Mets (58-60) to their third straight loss, as they fell two games below .500 for the first time since June 24.
Gee (10-4) lasted five innings and allowed four earned runs — all in the first two frames — on five hits and one walk. The Mets didn’t awaken offensively until the late innings, but it was too late.
“We’ve got to get somebody to go out there and throw up some zeroes,” manager Terry Collins said. “We’ve been fighting from behind, it seems, for almost a week straight. When you don’t hit the ball out of the ballpark, it’s tough to catch up.”
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Collins gave Willie Harris the start at second base last night — the first of perhaps three games on this road trip that Justin Turner will sit out. The manager said he wants to give Turner an opportunity to rest the nagging injuries he has been playing through, included a jammed thumb and sore right hip flexor.
Turner was hit by a pitch Thursday for the ninth time this season.
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Angel Pagan (2-for-5) returned to the lineup after leaving Wednesday’s game with back spasms and then resting the following day.