MIAMI -- Long before Travis d'Arnaud ended things with a 16th-inning homer early Friday morning, Yoenis Cespedes began them with his usual bang. Cespedes homered twice more in Thursday's 9-8, 16-inning win over the Marlins, giving him five long balls and nine RBIs in his last three games.
Leading off the third inning against Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen, Cespedes blasted his fifth home run of the season a projected 427 feet to center field. Two innings later, Cespedes led off again with a 402-foot shot over the Clevelander nightclub in left field.

That gave Cespedes sole possession of the Major League lead with six home runs. He is also the MLB leader with nine Barreled Balls -- hits that produce an expected batting average of at least .500 and expected slugging percentage of at least 1.500, according to Statcast™ data. And none of Cespedes' home runs have been cheap shots. He has averaged a 106.6 mph exit velocity on his six homers, tops among players with at least four long balls this season.
Finishing 2-for-6 in the 16-inning affair, Cespedes raised his season slash line to .275/.375/.800, with his slugging percentage second in the Majors behind only San Diego's William Myers.