|
 Cespedes was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and his mammoth two-run homer
in the ninth inning capped a 5-1 victory that gave the Mets an 8
1/2-game lead in the National League East with 21 games to play.
"I think he's enjoying this as much as everyone else is," Mets
manager Terry Collins said. "He's caught up in it. He came over and
he's in a pennant race... I think it's catchy. We're seeing
everything we've ever heard or read about a guy."
Cespedes, who has 33 homers and 100 RBIs overall, has homered in
seven of his past 10 games and has 15 home runs and 39 RBIs in 38
games since being acquired by the Mets from the Boston Red Sox.
"He's just a great hitter," Collins said of the Cuban center
fielder, who had previous spells at Oakland and Detroit.
"He uses his first at-bat to gauge what he's got to do. This is a
new league. He sees what guys are doing and after that he's
dangerous. He's got power to all parts of the park."
Cespedes' blast in the ninth, which traveled to the back of the
lower seats in left field, came on 3-0 fastball from right-hander
Arodys Vizcaino, who had walked right fielder Curtis Granderson to
start the inning.
Granderson scored three times, and second baseman Daniel Murphy and
left fielder Michael Conforto each had two hits.
The win also meant the Mets picked up a game in the standings when
Washington lost 2-1 at Miami.
"I'll be happy when we're up by 8 1/2 games with eight games to
play," said Collins, taking nothing for granted.
[to top of second column] |
Rookie left-hander Steven Matz improved to 3-0 while lowering his
ERA to 1.88, and the Mets (80-61) took advantage of blunders by the
Braves (56-86) to score on a balk and a passed ball.
Braves rookie right-hander Matt Wisler, who lost his fifth straight
to fall to 5-7, balked in a run in the fifth inning, and a passed
ball by catcher Christian Bethancourt gave the Mets another gift
score in the eighth.
Matz, who developed a blister in his previous start, was pulled for
a pinch hitter after five innings and 89 pitches. He gave up six
hits and two walks as the Braves stranded seven runners against him.
The pitcher's only blemish was a home run by rookie second baseman
Daniel Castro, who connected for the first time in his 18th major
league game.
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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reserved.]
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