Cespedes hits 2 homers, Colon strong as Mets top Giants 9-5
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Yoenis Cespedes hit two long home runs and an RBI double in his second game back from the disabled list, boosting Bartolo Colon and the New York Mets over the San Francisco Giants 9-5 Saturday.
The Mets had lost five of six before topping the team that began the day leading the NL West. The Giants dropped to 11-22 since the All-Star break.
Cespedes, who'd been out since Aug. 4 with a strained right quadriceps, drove in three runs. He has 24 homers this season.
The slugger's shot off Matt Moore (7-10) in the third inning went 457 feet, according to Statcast.com. Cespedes added a 418-footer off reliever Jake Peavy in the seventh.
Alejandro De Aza hit a three-run homer during a four-run sixth that stretched the Mets' lead to 7-2.
Colon (11-7) allowed two runs, scattering nine hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. He has three quality starts in four outings this month and a 2.25 ERA in August.
Moore, acquired at the trading deadline from Tampa Bay to bolster the back end of the Giants rotation, is 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA in four starts with his new team.
Moore gave up three earned runs and five hits in five innings. It was the first time in 13 outings he pitched less than six innings going back to June 2.
Denard Span hit a "splash" home run off Colon into the San Francisco Bay in the third. The home run was Span's seventh and his second "splash" hit this season.
Angel Pagan extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a bunt single in the first. The Giants outfielder exited after three innings with tightness in his right groin.
BABY WATCH
Mets second baseman Neil Walker will fly to his home in Pittsburgh after Sunday night's game to be with his wife Niki for the expected birth of their baby girl. Walker said doctors will induce the birth on Monday night, a Mets off day. Walker said his wife is doing well. "It's just been a big waiting game," Walker said. "I knew as soon as she got pregnant that we'd probably be out here on the West Coast, whether it was here or Arizona or St. Louis, we knew that was going to be challenging."
LINED UP
The Giants have set their rotation ahead of their pivotal three-game series at Dodger Stadium next week, with the trio of Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Moore set to start the Aug. 23-25 series, manager Bruce Bochy said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: RHP Jim Henderson was activated from the disabled list on Saturday. The hard-throwing setup man had been on the disabled list since June 21 with shoulder tendinitis. In a corresponding move RHP Tyler Goeddel was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Giants: Pairing up C Buster Posey with Moore for the first time factored in Bochy's decision to start the All-Star catcher in a day game after a night game. Bochy sat Posey for two straight games earlier in the week because of lower back tightness. ... LHP Josh Osich, who's been on the disabled list with a left forearm strain since July 28, could be activated soon. Bochy said the 27-year-old is developing a changeup in a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard allowed two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in his most recent outing against Arizona in which he snapped a streak of six straight winless starts. He is 1-2 with a 4.86 ERA in August and 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA in two career starts against the Giants.
Giants: RHP Jeff Samardzija is 1-0 with 2.31 ERA in his last two starts but the Giants have won just two of his last nine starts. He is 0-3 with an 11.40 ERA in three starts against New York and has an 8.72 ERA in nine career appearances against the Mets.