Inspired by the fan who called his name, Lucas Duda hit his first homer of the season
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Lucas Duda had given the Mets the lead over the Phillies on Monday night with an RBI double in the sixth, but coming to the plate with two outs in the eighth inning, he figured things would be a little more comfortable with an insurance run. He needed to do something big, like send a home run streaking in the direction of his giant face displayed on the Citizens Bank Park scoreboard.
But he hadn't homered yet this season. Who knew if he could do it right at that moment? He watched one pitch from Phillies reliever David Hernandez sail by, then another. He fouled off the third pitch of his at-bat.
And then he heard his call.
With the low chant of "DU-DA" sounding throughout the ballpark (and, hear tell, all of Philadelphia) Duda summoned the strength inside himself to put the Mets up, 3-1.
The effect was so powerful, in fact, that Neil Walker immediately followed suit: