Duda cresting after adjustments in minors

MILWAUKEE -- The Mets sent Lucas Duda to the minor leagues to smooth out his swing, to eliminate the excess movement that kept him from realizing what manager Terry Collins called his "tremendous power.''

Duda remains a work in progress, but after making adjustments in the minors, he is starting to reap the benefits. He recorded his third two-hit game in a row Saturday night in the Mets' 9-6 loss to the Brewers. Duda had an RBI single off Shaun Marcum in the first inning and added a one-out double in the fifth.

"It's kind of tough during the middle of the season to make an adjustment like that,'' Duda said Friday, when he homered. "It's worked so far and I'll continue to work on it for next spring.''

Collins has been public about his plans to create plenty of chances for Duda to play in the season's closing days. So far, he has taken advantage. He is hitting .333 (11-for-33) in September.

Extra basesRighthander Chris Young began the season on the disabled list -- and hopes to end it with the most big-league innings he's logged in a single season since 2008. "He's so prepared,'' Collins said. "That's why he's had success.'' Coming off major shoulder surgery, Young is 4-7 with a 4.39 ERA. He enters Sunday's start against the Brewers with 961/3 innings, his most since throwing 1021/3 with the Padres in 2008 . . . Although Jenrry Mejia struggled on the mound, he executed a perfect bunt on a suicide squeeze to drive in Jordany Valdespin. The squeeze opened the door to a three-run fourth inning that gave the Mets a 4-1 lead . . . David Wright (0-for-3) saw his hitting streak end at eight games. He is seven hits shy of matching Ed Kranepool for the most in franchise history. Wright has 1,411 hits in 1,246 career games, all with the Mets. Kranepool achieved the distinction by playing all of his 1,853 career games with the Mets from 1962-79.