Mets 9, Yankees 4: Slumping Ike Davis' two-run single capped a five-run first inning and sparked the visiting Mets to their season-high fourth consecutive victory.

Marlon Byrd homered and had two RBIs and Lucas Duda drove in a pair as the Mets beat the Yankees for the third straight night and sent their Subway Series rivals to a season-worst fourth loss in a row. Brennan Boesch homered and had two RBIs for the Yankees.

Mets right-hander Jeremy Hefner (1-5) gave up three runs on nine hits in six innings to earn his first victory and avoided joining Anthony Young (1993) as the only starters in franchise history to have his team lose his first 10 starts of the season.

The Mets knocked out Yankees starter David Phelps (3-3) with five runs in their first at-bat, helped along when third baseman Jayson Nix booted a potential inning-ending double-play ball. Daniel Murphy had an RBI double and John Buck a run-scoring single before Davis plated two runs with a one-out single to left-center to end Phelps' night.

Byrd's solo shot in the third and Duda's two-run double in the fourth extended the lead to 8-0 before Boesch put the Yankees on the board with a homer in the bottom of the inning. Boesch and Nix added RBI singles in the sixth to make it 8-3.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Phelps was charged with five runs (four earned) in one-third of an inning and made the earliest exit by a Yankees pitcher in the Subway Series since Darrell Rasner threw only nine pitches before leaving with an injury on May 19, 2007. ... Davis, who entered the contest mired in a 4-for-53 drought with 24 strikeouts, went 2-for-5 amid reports that he and SS Ruben Tejada were on the verge of being demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas. Tejada left with a right quadriceps injury with two outs in the ninth and will be evaluated by team doctors Thursday morning. ... The Yankees are expecting two of their walking wounded to return Friday, with 1B Mark Teixeira (wrist) and INF Kevin Youkilis (back) scheduled to rejoin the team for the series opener against Boston.