New York - Mark Teixeira hit a go-ahead homer and Phil Hughes won his third straight decision, sending the New York Yankees to a 4-2 victory over the Mets on Saturday night.

Curtis Granderson also connected and Alex Rodriguez had an early RBI single for the surging Yankees (33-25), who go for a Subway Series sweep today with Andy Pettitte on the mound against Jonathon Niese. They have won seven of nine and 12 of 16 to move a season-high eight games over .500.

With runners at the corners in the ninth inning, Rafael Soriano retired pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin on a routine fly to end it.

David Wright hit a long homer and Omar Quintanilla went deep for the first time since 2008, but the scuffling Mets lost for the fifth time in six games. A pregame message on a clubhouse grease board encouraged them to "stay positive" and "keep battling."

They got a strong outing from Dillon Gee but managed only two solo homers against Hughes (6-5), who topped his win total from an injury-plagued 2011 season. Coming off a four-hitter at Detroit in which he threw a career-high 123 pitches, the right-hander struck out six in 6 1-3 innings to improve to 5-1 in his last seven starts.

Cory Wade and a fine running catch in deep left-center by Granderson kept the Mets at bay in the seventh. Granderson added his 18th homer off Bobby Parnell in the eighth, ending an 0-for-18 slump, and Soriano got three outs for his ninth save.

After a 9-1 loss Friday night, the Mets dropped to 2-14 in series in the Bronx.

The matchup between crosstown foes was just one event on a jam-packed sports schedule Saturday in the New York area. Also on the docket: the Belmont Stakes, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, a world-class track and field meet and an exhibition soccer match between South American rivals Brazil and Argentina.

Teixeira put the home team on top at Yankee Stadium before a sellout crowd of 48,575.

Gee (4-4) worked around leadoff walks in the third and fourth before another one came back to bite him in the sixth. He was one strike from escaping again when Teixeira lined a 2-2 breaking ball over the short porch in right to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.

Teixeira's 11th homer was the first hit for the Yankees since three of their initial four batters singled.

Derek Jeter snapped an 0-for-17 slide with a leadoff hit. He advanced on Gee's balk and scored when Rodriguez grounded a single up the middle.

Quintanilla tied it when he connected on a 2-2 pitch in the third for his third major league homer and first since a game-ending shot for Colorado against Cincinnati on Aug. 24, 2008.

Wright drove his eighth homer to the back of the Mets' bullpen in the sixth, far beyond the 399-foot sign on the left-center fence.

Hughes has served up 15 home runs - at least one in each of his 12 starts. The Yankees said that streak is tied for the second-longest to begin a season in major league history behind Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, who gave up a homer in his first 14 starts of 1987 with Minnesota, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Raul Ibanez grounded into a double play to end the first, dropping him to 0 for 9 with the bases loaded this season and the Yankees to 10 for 64 (.156) in those situations.