NEW YORK - Eric Young Jr. homered with two outs in the 11th inning and the New York Mets overcame a blown lead Friday night to beat Kansas City 4-2, snapping the Royals' winning streak at nine.
Young slammed a 3-1 pitch from Luis Mendoza (2-6) over the right-field fence for his first career game-ending hit and just his second home run of the season. It scored Omar Quintanilla, who had walked.
The Mets led 2-0 on a first-inning homer by David Wright, but New York's beat-up bullpen couldn't protect it as Kansas City scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to tie it.
The Royals, whose surge matched the team's fifth-longest winning streak, were trying for their first 10-game run since they won 14 straight in 1994.
Carlos Torres (2-2), New York's scheduled starter for Saturday afternoon's game, worked two innings for the win in the 4 hour, 7 minute marathon.
The Mets entered the night with a pair of big injuries to their bullpen and ended it without Wright, who was forced out of the game in the 10th inning when he appeared to injure his hamstring while beating out an infield hit.
Wright provided all of New York's offense, until Young's heroics, when he hit a two-run shot in the first inning off Royals starter Wade Davis.
But New York's patchwork bullpen that was without closer Bobby Parnell (stiff neck) and setup man Josh Edgin (rib stress fracture) couldn't save it for Dillon Gee, who worked into the eighth inning.
Salvador Perez's fielder's choice got Kansas City within 2-1 in the eighth, and Lorenzo Cain's sacrifice fly in the ninth tied it. David Aardsma wasted the save chance while filling in for Parnell, who is expected to be sidelined until at least Sunday.
Pedro Feliciano, who joined the team just before game time after Edgin went on the disabled list, got the last out in the ninth inning in his first major league appearance since 2010.
Gee was in line to be the star of the night after allowing one run on just three singles and two walks. He struck out four in his ninth quality start in 12 outings.
Kansas City had earned road sweeps at the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota before making its first visit to Citi Field.
Juan Lagares singled in the first before Wright launched his 16th homer. It was his 220th with the Mets, tying him with Mike Piazza for second place on the franchise list.
Ike Davis went 3 for 3 after being dropped to seventh in the batting order by manager Terry Collins, who shook things up after the Mets were shut out on Thursday for the first time since May 25. Davis was lifted for a pinch-runner after he led off the ninth with a double.
Mets catcher John Buck, who is awaiting the imminent birth of his third child, let out his frustration after his second strikeout of the night and slammed his bat into the dugout rack several times in the sixth inning.
It got worse for him when he grounded into an inning-ending double play in the 10th with the potential winning run on third.
Gee bounced back from a rough outing at Washington last Saturday when he allowed a career-worst three home runs in the 4-1 loss.
Gee had an easy trip through the Royals lineup the first time through, allowing only a leadoff walk to Johnson in the third. Johnson was sacrificed to second, but he was stranded there when Alex Gordon struck out.
Perez singled with one out in the fourth for Kansas City's first hit.
Wade Davis was gone after throwing 104 pitches in five innings. He gave up eight hits and struck out five with no walks.
It was the second straight decent outing for Davis, who worked into the eighth inning of Kansas City's 1-0 win at the Chicago White Sox last Saturday. In four previous starts, Davis was 0-4 with a 10.91 ERA.
Notes: Wright's homer was the Mets' first in 64 innings, dating to last Friday. ... Wade Davis made one previous appearance against the Mets, last season in relief with Tampa Bay. ... Edgin is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks.