Mets rout David Phelps, Yankees in Game 3 of Subway Series

Whatever magic stardust the fabled pinstripes convey to those who don the Yankees' uniform seems to be wearing off. The junior varsity squad that has performed so admirably in the absence of a long list of injured big-money starters was hammered, 9-4, Wednesday night at the Stadium by a Mets team desperate to turn its season around.

It marked a season-high four-game losing streak for the Yankees and a matching season-high winning streak for the Mets, including the last three games against each other. The pregame calm of Yankees manager Joe Girardi was a marked contrast to the urgency in the voice of Terry Collins when he spoke of the problems he faces in keeping his team in a positive frame of mind, especially Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada, who were facing potential demotions to the minors.

"I saw it in the minor leagues, and I've seen it in the big leagues,'' Collins said. "Losing can be as contagious as winning. And that's what we're trying to fight.''

Judging by the 0-5 record and 4.76 ERA Mets starter Jeremy Hefner brought into the game, it looked like an uphill fight. But the Mets bombed away in the Bronx for five first-inning runs against David Phelps (3-3), who lasted a mere one-third of an inning and totaled 31 pitches.

Tejada began the onslaught with a leadoff single, and Davis, batting eighth, ended it with a two-run single to the opposite field that knocked Phelps out of the game. In between, Daniel Murphy and John Buck had RBI hits, and Marlon Byrd was credited with an RBI scoring David Wright when third baseman Jayson Nix made an error on Byrd's hard shot.

That loaded the bases for the lefthanded Davis, who went with a pitch on the outside of the plate instead of trying to pull it into Yankee Stadium's short rightfield porch. It was a lot of redemption in the space of one inning, and it felt good to a run-starved team.

Asked how it felt to start with a big lead, Collins said, "Different. We had some great at-bats in the first inning. It took a lot of heat away from Hef and let him relax.''

Byrd hit a solo homer off Adam Warren in the third, and the Mets made it 8-0 in the fourth when Lucas Duda ripped a two-run double off Warren.

Byrd said Collins' approach with Tejada and Davis got the team's attention. "Sometimes you have to light a fire,'' Byrd said. "What the coaching staff did was absolutely perfect. Ruben came out swinging, and Ike came out swinging. We expect that to continue.''

Tejada left the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth because of a tight quad. He will be examined Thursday.

The Yankees got a fourth-inning solo homer by Brennan Boesch and scored two in the sixth. Boesch drove in a run with an infield hit when Tejada delayed his throw to first while unsuccessfully trying to hold Travis Hafner at third, and Nix's single drove in Lyle Overbay.

Scott Rice relieved Hefner to start the seventh, and LaTroy Hawkins got the final four outs.

Girardi called Phelps' outing "a stinker,'' but said it had nothing to do with a ball off his arm in his previous start.

Asked if his super subs have been stretched to the limit, Girardi said, "I don't think we've stretched as much as we can. I think these guys have more left in the tank.''

Losing the Subway Series isn't the end of the world for the Yankees, but Collins is hoping it's the start of bigger things for the Mets.

"It's huge for us because we're trying to get back in the mix,'' Collins said. "This is a big series because it might be the kick start to a big summer.''