Yoenis Cespedes hits three of Mets’ seven home runs vs. Phillies on Tuesday

By Apr 11, 2017, 10:48 PM EDT
Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
4 Comments

Yoenis Cespedes became the first member of the Mets to have multiple three-homer games for the team. He hit a trio of homers on August 21, 2015 against the Rockies. He then accomplished the feat once more on Tuesday night against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in a 14-4 victory.

Cespedes hit his first home run with no outs and two runners on base in the top of the first inning against Clay Buchholz, swatting a fly ball out towards the batter’s eye in center field. Adam Morgan relieved Buchholz, who exited in the third inning with a forearm injury. Cespedes victimized Morgan with a no-doubt solo home run down the left field line in the fourth inning for his second dinger. In the fifth, Cespedes went deep for a third time, swatting another solo home run off of Morgan.

Cespedes had two shots to hit a fourth home run, but settled for a well-struck double to center field in the seventh and a ground out in the eighth. After Tuesday’s performance, he’s hitting .250/.333/.688 with four home runs and six RBI in 36 plate appearances.

[mlbvideo id=”1273226883″ width=”600″ height=”336″ /]

Lucas Duda hit two homers of his own on Tuesday night. Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis d'Arnaud also homered, giving the Mets seven on the evening. Seven marks the most home runs the Mets have hit in a game since August 24, 2015, when they hit eight home runs in a 16-7 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. In fact, the Mets have hit six-plus homers in a game four times since the start of the millennium, and all four have come against the Phillies in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. The others: six on April 19, 2016 and seven on April 19, 2005.

To put Tuesday night in perspective, 12 teams entered Tuesday with fewer home runs than the Mets hit against the Phillies. The Mets nearly doubled their season output in home runs from eight to 15.

Padres claim 2-time All-Star catcher Gary Sánchez off waivers from Mets

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:24 AM EDT
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
2 Comments

SAN DIEGO — The scuffling San Diego Padres claimed catcher Gary Sánchez off waivers from the New York Mets.

The two-time All-Star was designated for assignment after playing in three games for the Mets. He went 1 for 6 with three strikeouts and an RBI, looking shaky at times behind the plate.

With the disappointing Padres (24-29) getting meager offensive production at catcher, they hope Sánchez can provide a boost. Austin Nola is batting .131 with three extra-base hits and a paltry .434 OPS in 39 games. His part-time platoon partner, second-stringer Brett Sullivan, is hitting .170 with four extra-base hits and a .482 OPS in 21 games since getting called up from the minors April 16.

Luis Campusano has been on the injured list since April 17 and is expected to be sidelined until around the All-Star break following left thumb surgery.

San Diego is responsible for just over $1 million in salary for Sánchez after assuming his $1.5 million, one-year contract.

The star-studded Padres have lost seven of 11 and are 3-3 on a nine-game East Coast trip. They open a three-game series at Miami.

San Diego becomes the third National League team to take a close look at the 30-year-old Sánchez this season. He spent time in the minors with San Francisco before getting released May 2 and signing a minor league contract a week later with the Mets, who were minus a couple of injured catchers at the time.

After hitting well in a short stint at Triple-A Syracuse, he was promoted to the big leagues May 19. When the Mets reinstated catcher Tomás Nido from the injured list last week, Sánchez was cut.

Sánchez’s best seasons came early in his career with the New York Yankees, where he was runner-up in 2016 AL Rookie of the Year voting and made the AL All-Star team in 2017 and 2019.

He was traded to Minnesota before the 2022 season and batted .205 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 128 games last year.

With the Padres, Sánchez could also be a candidate for at-bats at designated hitter, where 42-year-old Nelson Cruz is batting .245 with three homers, 16 RBIs and a .670 OPS, and 37-year-old Matt Carpenter is hitting .174 with four homers, 21 RBIs and a .652 OPS.