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 The Yankees (80-66) fell 4-1/2 games behind Toronto in the American
League East as Duda and Murphy hit solo homers in the second and
sixth innings respectively while Uribe hit a pinch-hit two-run homer
in the seventh.
Duda, Murphy and third baseman David Wright, the three
longest-tenured members of the lineup, went a combined 6-for-11. The
rest of the Mets went 2-for-21.
"Your star players, when you get on the big stage, that's when they
come through," Mets manager Terry Collins said of the performance of
his three veterans.
"And tonight our guys got big hits."
Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, staked to a 1-0 lead on a
first-inning sacrifice fly by left fielder Chris Young, retired the
first four batters he faced on just 10 pitches before Duda hit a
mammoth homer off the second deck in right field.
"Once they go up one, with the way he's throwing the ball over
there, you like to think you're going to get one," Murphy said.
"But for Lucas to have that at-bat right there, bang one and get it
back real fast for is, it kind of let us (relax) as an offense."
It was the first homer in 67 at-bats for Duda, who was on the
disabled list from Aug. 22 through Sept. 7 due to lower back
stiffness. He finished 2-for-4.
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"I'm just happy to contribute and get the win," Duda said. "The
biggest thing right now, especially in September, is winning. If you
went 0-for-4, 4-for-4, whatever it is, put it aside. It's time to
win ballgames."
The Mets (84-63), who have already clinched their first winning
season since 2008, maintained their eight-game NL East lead over the
Washington Nationals.
Despite the loss, the Yankees still lead the AL wild card race.
"We need to win games -- that's the bottom line," manager Joe
Girardi said.
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