Jewish star shines for Mets; L.A. activates Brad Ausmus — both vs. Giants

Ike Davis

If you weren't following the Giants-Mets series at AT&T Park over the weekend, you might not know that the Giants won three out of four games.

You also might not know that there was a Jewish star in the series: Mets rookie first baseman Ike Davis.

On Sunday, Davis went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two doubles. His double with two outs in the top of the 10th broke a 3-3 tie and ended up giving the Mets a 4-3 victory -- their only win in the series.

On Saturday, the Giants won 8-4, but the Jewish slugger hit his 12th and 13th home runs of the year. Davis ended up driving in five of the Mets' eight runs in the series.

Davis, 23, is from Edina, Minn., and he played his college baseball at Arizona State in the Pac-10, meaning he's played his fair share of games in the Bay Area already, at Cal and Stanford. The Mets called him up from their Triple-A affiliate less than two weeks into the 2010 season, and he's been something of a fan favorite and somewhat steady contributor ever since. He is hitting .261 with 13 homers and 45 RBIs.

By the way, his mother is Jewish and his first name is really Isaac, not Ike. His full name is Isaac Benjamin Davis. His mother, Millie, is Jewish, and he was named after his great-grandfather. Read all about it in here.

Catcher Brad Ausmus rejoins Dodgers

Two days after Davis' big series at AT&T Park, the Giants were in Los Angeles when the Dodgers activated 41-year-old catcher Brad Ausmus (also a Jew). Many thought the longtime veteran's major league career was over when he underwent back surgery in April.  The Dodgers put him on the 60-day disabled list, and it looked as if it might be the end of the line after 17 major league seasons.

But on Tuesday, the Dodgers put star outfielder Manny Ramirez on the disabled list with a leg injury — and decided to activate Ausmus. He had played in only one game this season, going 1-for-4 on April 8 in Pittsburgh. He will now serve as the Dodgers' third-string catcher, which means he probably won't see much playing time, if any at all.

Right before the surgery in April on his back, which had made sleeping and even sitting almost impossible for him, Ausmus declared that while the injury might sideline him for awhile, it wouldn't send him into retirement. "I'm not folding up shop," he said. "I signed a contract to play the full season, and I'll fulfill the contract unless they tell me to get out of here."

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