NEW YORK _ Perhaps this is how it must be from here on out, the most prominent player on the Mets picking and choosing precisely when to demand more from his weary legs.
Sometimes, Yoenis Cespedes finds another gear, flashing the speed he still possesses despite constant worry about the leg injuries that have put a dent in his career. Sometimes, he barely reaches a steady jog, inviting questions about whether his body will hold up.
Either way, this is the bargain that the Mets find themselves locked into as they enter the trade-whatever-you-can-for-prospects phase of their campaign. Both versions of Cespedes showed up on a steamy Wednesday night at Citi Field, where the Mets battered the Cardinals, 7-3, to end a three-game losing streak.
Donning a bright new hair color _ a shade of blue once made famous by Marge Simpson _ Cespedes knocked in a pair of runs. The run-scoring hits came one day after manager Terry Collins acknowledged "a little concern" about the slugger's production.
Entering play on Wednesday, Cespedes hadn't homered since June 23, a span of 62 at-bats. Until Wednesday night, he had driven in only one run in his last 15 games. He began the evening hitting .272 with nine homers and 20 RBIs, having been sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring and quad injury.
But Cespedes helped the Mets pounce on Cardinals starter Mike Leake, providing ample cushion for right-hander Jacob deGrom (11-3), who has won his last seven starts.
In the first inning, Cespedes ripped an RBI single to left, the fist of three-straight run-scoring hits with two outs that the Mets used to build a 3-0 lead. In the second, Cespedes struck again, lacing a run-scoring double to left field.
But Cespedes did not run hard out of the batter's box, then appeared to slow up as he reached second base. It was an awkward enough trip around the bases that within moments, manger Terry Collins and team trainer Ray Ramirez were on the field checking on the slugger, who is in the first season of a four-year, $110 million extension.
Cespedes quickly waved them off and stayed in the game, though only a half inning would pass until he looked once more like a player finding a way to deal with unsteady legs.
In the third inning, Magneuris Sierra lofted a fly ball to shallow left. It appeared to be within range of an average big league outfielder in a full sprint. But with a 7-0 lead, Cespedes jogged after it, letting it hit the grass in front of him for a hit. Yet, later in the frame, he looked like a flash streaking across leftfield as he ran down Tommy Pham's liner.
Of course, the damage was done by then thanks to a Mets offense that roared to life one night after being shut out by the Cardinals' Michael Wacha. In the first, Lucas Duda and Wilmer Flores followed Cespedes' lead, delivering two-out hits to knock in runs. In the second, Jay Bruce added a run-scoring single ahead of Cespedes, who doubled home a run.
Before the game, Collins flip-flopped the two in the lineup and the move seemed to pay off.
Later, with two outs, Jose Reyes drilled a two-run double. The Mets were well on their way to improving to 42-50, though they began the day 11 { games out of the wild card.
From there, deGrom cruised, lowering his ERA to 1.51 in his last seven starts. He was charged with only one run in 6 2/3 innings, and it came at the very end of his performance.
Just one out away from finishing off seven shutout innings, deGrom thought he struck out Luke Voit, jogging off the field with the rest of the Mets. But umpires ruled that Voit had fouled off the pitch. Given a second chance, Voit laced an RBI double. With that, deGrom departed with his only blemish.
Voit came to the plate as the tying run in the eighth, with the bases loaded after struggling lefty Jerry Blevins walked pinch hitter Adam Wainwright to load the bases. But closer Addison Reed bolstered his own trade value, striking out Voit to end the threat. He pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his 16th save.
