Mets-Braves Game Suspended for Rain The number of strikeouts collected by Ike Davis during the Mets" 45th game, which began Friday night, will not be officially determined until Saturday. The series opener between the Mets and the Braves at Citi Field was suspended before the start of the ninth inning with the score tied at 5-5, and the game will resume at 6:10 p.m. Davis struck out four times Friday night, looking overmatched during all four of his at-bats. The first three times, he walked back to the dugout after swinging awkwardly at low breaking balls. The fourth time, he missed on a high fastball. "I know it's wearing on him," Manager Terry Collins said, mentioning that Davis went straight to the batting cage when the game was delayed. Asked how much longer he could stick with Davis, Collins said, "I'm not sure." Collins has spent much of the week answering questions about Davis's job security. As the Mets have been saying since last week, a demotion for Davis to the Class AAA team in Las Vegas is not imminent, and the Mets do not have any obvious candidates to replace him at first base. But the questions will grow louder if Davis continues to look as helpless as he did Friday. Before the game, Collins said the Mets would improvise their lineup should Davis be sent down. But he emphasized that the conversation had not come to that. "If Ike's not here, we have several options," Collins said before the game, mentioning left fielder Lucas Duda, second baseman Daniel Murphy and infielder Justin Turner as potential first basemen. Have we discussed them? No, because he's the first baseman still. Davis's average plummeted to .143. Through the first eight innings of Friday's game, Davis had had one hit in his last 42 at-bats. His four strikeouts stood out in the seesaw contest. Jeremy Hefner will have no chance to earn his first win of the season. He pitched six innings, and gave up his only two runs in the first inning, when Freddie Freeman blasted a two-run homer into the upper deck in right field. But Hefner settled into a rhythm, retiring 16 of the next 19 Braves batters. He went on to pitch six innings without giving up any additional runs. He allowed three hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Hefner left with the lead, but Dan Uggla homered off LaTroy Hawkins in the seventh to tie the score, 3-3, and the Braves went briefly ahead when Evan Gattis hit a two-run pinch-hit single in the eighth. The game was played in cold, wet and windy conditions that delayed the start by 16 minutes. After a 75-minute delay at the conclusion of the eighth inning, play was suspended until Saturday. The elements aided the Mets" offense over the course of the night. Duda notched a run-scoring single when Justin Upton misjudged his high pop to windy left field in the first inning. John Buck hit a solo home run in the fourth, and the Mets took the lead momentarily in the fifth. Murphy opened the inning with a double over Upton's head - he misjudged that ball, too - and Marlon Byrd drove him in later in the inning. The rain returned during the later innings, and the conditions seemed to be a factor again during the Mets" two-run eighth. Murphy singled to center field off Anthony Varvaro, sending Buck home from second. Ruben Tejada, who was on first base, went to third on the play because B. J. Upton could not pick the ball cleanly off the wet grass. Varvaro then bounced a wild pitch into the wet dirt around home plate, letting Tejada come home to tie the score at 5-5. The game will resume shortly before the start of the regularly scheduled game. The questions about Davis will linger overnight. Before the game, Collins said he did not think Davis was becoming a distraction for the other players. "I don't know if it overwhelms the other guys," Collins said, "but it's certainly tough on Ike." Collins said he hoped Davis was not letting the mounting pressure affect his play. He complimented Davis on how he had handled himself publicly. "It is part of being here," Collins said of the scrutiny from fans and members of the news media. It's part of the game. When you are a good player, like he is, and you're struggling like this, you have to stand up and be accountable, and I think he's done a great job of that.