Struggling Davis sinks to No. 7 in lineup

NEW YORK -- Ike Davis has not fallen out of the Mets' lineup entirely, but he is now a few clicks closer to that fate. Manager Terry Collins dropped Davis to the seventh hole Wednesday, a position he has not manned since the opening weeks of his rookie season.

With Davis mired in a 1-for-19 funk dating back to April 18, Collins pointed to Marlins starter Mark Buehrle's strong numbers against left-handed hitters as a primary reason for the switch. But a day after lifting his first baseman for a pinch-hitter in a critical spot against the Marlins, Collins also allowed that Davis has not found any sort of rhythm at the plate.

"Down the road, Ike Davis is going to be a huge bat in the middle of our lineup," Collins said. "But I think the message has been sent. It's about the team as a whole."

Saying after Tuesday's game that "I'm not in a position to argue right now," Davis did not grumble publicly about the drop after batting cleanup in 13 of his first 16 starts this season. The first baseman entered Wednesday's play with 21 strikeouts -- nine of them looking -- in 51 at-bats this season, the driving factors behind his .131 average and .185 on-base percentage.

He had appeared to put aside his season-opening 2-for-28 slump when he homered three times in four games last week, but he has since hit safely just once in 19 at-bats.