Yoenis Cespedes Hits Franchise Record, Matt Harvey Leaves Early In Mets’ 14-4 Rout Of Phillies

Yoenis Cespedes became the first New York Met with three home runs in two games in Tuesday night’s 14-4 thrashing of the Phillies in Philadelphia in the middle game of a three-game series.

Yoenis Cespedes Hits 3 Homers in 5 Innings in Mets’ Rout of Phillies

The Cuban left-fielder smacked three homers in five innings. The previous (and first) time Cespedes had a three-homer game was at Colorado on Aug. 21, 2015.

“It looked like a driving range out there the way he was hitting the ball,” Mets manager Terry Collins said.

Cespedes belted a three-run homer 411 feet to center field off Clay Buchholz in the first inning, crushed a laser 428 feet down the left-field line off reliever Adam Morgan in the fourth and smashed a high shot 382 feet to left in the fifth against Morgan.

“Can you imagine?” Cespedes said. “I think any baseball player that hit three home runs would be having a lot of fun. It wasn’t just fun for me, though. It was really great to see the whole team getting hits out there and having fun.”

The Phillies struggled against Mets right-hander Matt Harvey, who allowed five hits, two runs, one walk and struck out six in 5 2/3 innings before he exited with tightness in his left hamstring. Harvey stated following the game that the tightness was nothing serious and that he expects to make his next start Sunday in Miami.

Philadelphia’s Dominican third baseman Maikel Franco smacked his first homer of the season in the second off Harvey, a solo home run to left-field. However, it was the Mets who ultimately dominated most of the night.

“Another embarrassing game against the Mets,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.

Lucas Duda sealed the rout in the sixth with a homer over the batter’s eye in center field. Duda added a solo shot in the ninth for the Mets’ seventh home run.

Buchholz exited in the third with a strained right flexor pronator in his elbow after allowing eight hits, six runs, one walk, one homer and two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings of play. The right-hander will undergo an MRI on Wednesday, though Mackanin said he would be surprised if Buchholz made his next start.

“I’ve been on the DL for an extended period of time, multiple times,” Buchholz said. “It’s nothing that you want to happen. For me I’ve got to find out obviously what it is and then get it taken care of.”

The Phillies optioned lefty Morgan following the game because they need a fresh arm in their rotation. Morgan allowed seven hits, four runs, two walks, four homers and struck out five in 3 2/3 innings, during which he tossed 76 pitches.

The Mets (5-3, 1st in NL East) and the Phillies (3-5, 4th in NL East) face off for the series finale at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night at 7:05 pm EST. New York leads the series 2-0.

Right-hander Zack Wheeler (0-1, 11.25 ERA) will make his first start in two and a half years for the Mets, while righty Vince Velasquez (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will start for the Phillies. Velasquez struck out ten on Friday in the Phillies’ home opener against Washington, but he also lasted only four innings.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 11: Starting pitcher Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets delivers a pitch in the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 11, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)