"Four days of rest evidently did Gary Sheffield some good.

On a night almost nothing worked for the Mets, the one positive they could glean from their 9-1 loss to the Yankees was Sheffield not only survived nine innings in right field at Citi Field, he was his old self at the plate.

Sheffield, who received a cortisone shot for his ailing right hamstring and knee earlier in the week, gave the Mets their only run, launching a fifth-inning home run against CC Sabathia.

The 40-year outfielder later said the cortisone shot must have hit the spot.

"I felt good -- especially going at balls in the corner," Sheffield said. "I went pretty hard, and that was encouraging. I did get something out of it from that standpoint."

Sheffield certainly enjoys hitting against the Yankees. In four games this season against his former team he has homered three times -- accounting for one-third of his team-leading nine homers. Overall, he's batting .368 against the Yankees this season with five RBIs.

Sabathia had retired the first 12 batters he faced before Sheffield, batting cleanup, crushed a hanging slider into the left field seats leading off the fifth, pulling the Mets within 4-1. "