The Mets bullpen may have broken down, but Lucas Duda finally broke out.
After snapping an 0-for-16 slump early in last night’s 10-6 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field, Duda produced his first multi-hit game since May 17, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs.
“It felt good,” Duda said. “It would’ve felt better if we would’ve won.”
Much of the team’s success this season has come from unexpected contributions, but the Mets finally got something they had counted on. After hitting 10 home runs in 301 at-bats last season, the 26-year-old has been unable to build on last year’s .292 batting average and .482 slugging percentage.
Heading into last night, Duda was batting .245 and slugging .368 with just one home run in May and just three since the second game of the season. Mets manager Terry Collins said before the game that Duda’s recent struggles involved him facing too many quality lefties.
Duda went about dispelling that notion.
After striking out in his first at-bat, Duda snapped a four-game hitless streak with a single off of Cliff Lee in the fourth inning. Two innings later, Duda took a two-out, first-pitch fastball from the former Cy Young award winner over the fence in right-center to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.
“Off Cliff, that’s a big swing for him,” Collins said. “If we get him going, our lineup is going to change immensely. … He’s been swinging at first pitches. He’s made some adjustments in his swing to get the bat out some [and] saw some results tonight.”
Duda became the first left-hander to hit a home run off of Lee this season, which also marked the outfielder’s first career home run off of a southpaw after 138 at-bats.
After batting .247 against lefties in his first two seasons, Duda is now batting .288 against southpaws this year.
“I think it’s just laying off the borderline pitchers last year that I swung at,” Duda said. “That’s basically it.”
With the Mets trailing 10-3, Duda led off the bottom of the ninth against left-hander Raul Valdes and connected on a 2-2 fastball with a shot to center field. It was Duda’s second career multi-homer game and his seventh home run of the season, giving him the team lead.
howard.kussoy@nypost.com