"Meet Chris Young, three-tool monster: pitch, dunk and hit.

That last tool wasn't unearthed until last night, when Young — a career .137 hitter entering the game — got his third hit before the Phillies even had their second. Except for an empty gas tank before he could complete six innings, and Young's Mets debut was a success.

The 6-foot-10 righty held the Phillies to one run over 5 1/3 innings and went 3-for-3 with an RBI, leading the Mets to a 7-1 victory at Citizens Bank Park.

The Mets (3-1) couldn't be happier with their play since losing Opening Night at Florida. Since then they have received three strong starting-pitching performances and the kind of offensive production that eluded them for most of 2009 and 2010.

David Wright went 4-for-5 with two RBIs on a night Young became the first Mets pitcher to get two hits in the same inning, when he singled twice against Cole Hamels in the third.

"It's special to be a part of Mets history — it's a great franchise and certainly I would have never have dreamed that," Young said.

"But hopefully there's a lot of great things to come as a team and we can accomplish some great things together."

Young, who missed most of the last two seasons with the Padres battling shoulder problems, didn't allow a run until Placido Polanco's RBI double in the fifth. Young retired Ryan Howard with the bases loaded to end the inning.

With the Mets leading 7-1, manager Terry Collins sent Young back to the mound for the sixth inning despite the fact he had already thrown 90 pitches on a chilly night — temperature was 49 degrees at first pitch with a strong wind gusting to right field.

"Chris said he wanted to go back out there, and he certainly deserved the opportunity," Collins said. "He said he felt great, so I wanted him to go and start the inning."

Young, on fumes, allowed a leadoff single to Raul Ibanez before Ben Francisco hit a shot to left that the wind kept in the park for a long out."