SAN FRANCISCO — Just say Yo.
The Mets had waited patiently over the past six weeks for their best player to get healthy, and Saturday they received a strong indication that Yoenis Cespedes is not only back, but perhaps ready to start carrying this team again.
In a performance straight from his August 2015 archives, Cespedes smashed two home runs and drove in three runs to lead the Mets to a 9-5 victory over the Giants at AT&T Park.
“It was his show today,” Neil Walker said.
A day after returning from a two-week stint on the disabled list with strained right quadriceps — an injury he had sustained before the All-Star break but attempted to play through — Cespedes’ three hits were a welcome sign for a team in desperate need of a winning streak.
“When I am up at the plate, I am able to swing better now that I have that strength back in my leg,” Cespedes said.
That pronouncement wasn’t a surprise to anybody who had watched Cespedes closely since he injured the leg.
“You can go back and look at the swing that he had when he was hurting: His lower half wasn’t there and today it’s feeling better and he has a big day,” manager Terry Collins said.
The Mets (61-62) snapped a three-game losing skid and were five games behind the Cardinals for the NL’s second wild-card berth as Saturday night’s play began.
If the Mets are going to have any chance at erasing their deficit, it will likely start with Cespedes rebounding.
“[Cespedes] is so dangerous in the middle of our lineup and he makes such a big difference,” Collins said. “It’s nothing against anybody else, but he’s tough to replace.”
With slumping Jay Bruce on the bench for a rest, the Mets — who returned Walker to the lineup after a four-game absence caused by lower back stiffness — pounded Matt Moore early and gave Bartolo Colon plenty of cushion.
Cespedes’ second homer of the game, in the seventh, gave the Mets an 8-2 lead after Alejandro De Aza had broken open the game with a three-run blast an inning earlier.
Colon (11-7) went 6 ¹/₃ innings and allowed two earned runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and one walk. It was a rebound performance for the 43-year-old righty, who lasted only four innings Monday in Arizona, allowing five runs, two of which were earned.
“The bullpen, they need the starters here to go six or seven innings,” Colon said. “They are a little bit tired too, so it was good for them.”
Colon’s lead shrunk to 3-2 in the fifth, after Joe Panik tripled leading off the inning and scored on Conor Gillaspie’s ground out. After Gregor Blanco bunted for a single and Brandon Belt delivered an infield hit, Colon escaped trouble by retiring Buster Posey.
Denard Span’s solo homer into McCovey Cove in the third sliced the Mets’ lead to 3-1. It was the first homer allowed in four starts by Colon, who has surrendered 18 overall this season.
Cespedes’ solo homer in the third extended the Mets’ lead to 3-0. Jose Reyes walked leading off the inning and took second on a wild pitch before scoring on Asdrubal Cabrera’s sacrifice fly. Cespedes followed with his first blast of the game.
“Cespedes, that presence is just sort of fear and concern in the other team,” Colon said.
In the first, Cespedes stroked an RBI double after Reyes had doubled leading off the game.
“Even the double in the first inning, that is something we haven’t seen: a hit with a runner in scoring position,” Collins said. “Today was a good day and we need to use this as a springboard.”