Cespedes, Lugo carry Mets past Padres

SAN DIEGO -- Yoenis Céspedes didn't even need a full swing to set the Mets on course for a 6-5 victory over the Padres on Tuesday night. Instead, his check-swing triple into the right-field corner plated the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning, and he'd tack on a pivotal insurance run himself when Wil Myers' throw to third base sailed to the wall.
Cespedes finished 3-for-4, complementing his "Little League home run" with a big league home run off Padres rookie Kyle Lloyd in the first. Cespedes, whose big night made a winner out of Mets starter Seth Lugo, wouldn't get a chance at the cycle, however. The Mets removed Cespedes in the middle of the seventh inning due to leg fatigue.
• Cespedes leaves with leg fatigue
Lugo allowed home runs to Hunter Renfroe and Allen Córdoba in the third inning, before settling down for six innings of four-run ball. Paul Sewald tossed two perfect frames in relief, and Addison Reed would strand the tying run on second base in the ninth for his 18th save.
"Everybody's coming up big, and every night,someone else is doing something huge," Lugo said. "It's a good time to get on a roll."

Lloyd, who slotted into the rotation spot left open after Trevor Cahill was traded to Kansas City, wasn't told of his callup until late Monday night. The 25-year-old right-hander was effective for four innings, before coming undone in his third time through the order. With a fastball in the mid-to-upper 80s and a biting splitter, he allowed four runs on six hits over four-plus innings.
• Short outing doesn't ruin Lloyd's debut
"It's been a whirlwind," Lloyd said. "It was pretty surreal last night when I found out. Not a lot of sleep went into today's outing, but I couldn't ask for a better opportunity. Wish some things could've gone a little different, but it's baseball."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Homer happy: Renfroe has peppered the Western Metal Building in left field all year. He did so again Tuesday night, after winning a nine-pitch battle with Lugo. Renfroe's third homer in as many at-bats was also the first home run by an opposing hitter against Lugo's curveball. (Three batters later, Cordoba went the more traditional route, with a two-run homer off Lugo's fastball, giving the Padres a 3-1 lead.)
"I like hitting curveballs up in the zone," Renfroe said. "You just kind of react to them, especially with two strikes against a guy with a pretty good spin rate out there." 
Triple-double:Curtis Granderson and Asdrúbal Cabrera opened the top of the fifth inning with back-to-back doubles against Lloyd, tying the game at 3. With Cespedes due up, the Padres countered with Kirby Yates, who hadn't allowed a hit to a right-handed batter in 23 plate appearances. Cespedes came through anyway, smacking the Mets' third consecutive double into the right-field corner. It was the second of Cespedes' three go-ahead hits on the night.

QUOTABLE
"Overall, I think I had a pretty good bad day." -- Lugo on his six-inning, four-run (three earned) performance
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Cespedes' "Little League home run" was the Mets' third in nine days. José Reyes scored on a double and two errors July 17 against the Cardinals, and T.J. Rivera came home on a single and an error Friday against the A's.
FROM THE TRAINER'S ROOM
Though manager Terry Collins deemed Cespedes' departure a precaution, the Mets were not sure immediately after the game if he would be available Wednesday. Cespedes slid twice on his seventh-inning triple, going feet-first into third base before popping up, sprinting home and sliding headfirst into home. When he returned to the dugout, Cespedes told Mets trainers that his quads felt tired.
"It was more fatigue," Cespedes said through an interpreter. "I felt it really after I touched second base. I'm not too worried, though. I don't think it's going to be an impediment for playing tomorrow."

GETTING DUSTY IN HERE
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, journeyman infielder Dusty Coleman stepped to the plate as the tying run. He fell behind 0-2 against Reed, before smashing a double into the left-center field gap, cutting the Padres' deficit to one run. It was the first big league hit for the 30-year-old Coleman, who had spent nine seasons in the Minor Leagues.
"His first Major League hit, a double that helped us have a chance to win a baseball game -- I think you get excited for those guys to experience those moments," said Padres manager Andy Green.

WHAT'S NEXT
Mets: In his first five starts, Mets left-hander Steven Matz was 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA. In three outings since that time, he's 0-2 with a 13.06 mark. Matz will look to rediscover his previous form when the Mets return to Petco Park for a 10:10 p.m. ET game Wednesday.
Padres:Jhoulys Chacín had his start pushed back a day because of some minor back tightness, but he's expected to take the ball Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. PT. Chacin's 1.94 ERA at Petco Park is the best home mark in the Majors.
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