NEW YORK — Robinson Cano hit three home runs, breaking loose from a season-long slump in a huge way and leading Jason Vargas and the New York Mets over the San Diego Padres 5-2 Tuesday night.
The 36-year-old Cano drove in all five runs and went 4 for 4. Vargas pitched one-hit ball for six shutout innings, possibly enhancing his trade value.
Cano began the day batting just .243 with six homers in his first season with the Mets. Yet before the game, Manager Mickey Callaway expressed confidence that Cano would produce, putting him in the category of “Hall of Fame hitters.”
Cano homered three times in a game for the first time in his career. It was just the third three-homer game ever by a Mets player at home – Lucas Duda and Kirk Nieuwenhuis both did it in July 2015.
After singling in the first, Cano made it 1-0 in the fourth with his first home run at Citi Field since early April.
Cano hit a two-run homer off Chris Paddack (6-5) in the sixth and a two-run shot in the seventh off Logan Allen – both drives sailed into the second deck.
Of Cano’s nine homers this year, five have come since the All-Star break. This was his 23rd career multihomer game and first since 2017 with Seattle.
Yoenis Cespedes was the previous Mets player to hit three homers, doing it in 2017. The feat has been accomplished by 13th different Mets players, with Cespedes doing it twice.
CARDINALS 4, PIRATES 3: Paul Goldschmidt homered for the second straight night, Jose Martinez added his 10th home run this season and Dakota Hudson rebounded from a shaky start to lead St. Louis at Pittsburgh.
Goldschmidt, who hit a go-ahead grand slam in the 10th inning on Monday, delivered a two-run drive to the left-field seats in the third inning off Chris Archer (3-7). Martinez put St. Louis in front with a solo shot leading off the fifth, and Hudson and two relievers shut down the Pirates after spotting Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead.
Hudson (10-4) surrendered a Starling Marte homer three batters into the bottom of the first, then settled down. The 24-year-old rookie didn’t allow a run the rest of the way, working 6 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and three walks to improve to 8-1 in his last 12 starts. Giovanny Gallegos and Andrew Miller retired the last eight Pittsburgh batters, with Miller throwing a perfect ninth for his third save.
St. Louis moved to 9-2 since the All-Star break to close ground on the first-place Chicago Cubs in the quickly widening NL Central. The Cardinals and Pirates were separated by a half-game at the break. The gap has expanded considerably over the last two weeks.
Pittsburgh fell to 2-9 since over its last 11 games, with four of the losses to St. Louis.
NATIONALS 11, ROCKIES 1: Trea Turner hit his second career cycle, Stephen Strasburg earned his major league-leading 13th win and Washington topped visiting Colorado.
Turner led off the first inning with a homer, singled in the second and tripled leading off the fifth. After grounding into a double play in the sixth, he doubled home a run during Washington’s eight-run seventh.
It was the fourth cycle for the Nationals since relocating to Washington in 2005, half of them by Turner against the Rockies. He’s the 26th player to hit for multiple cycles.
Strasburg (13-4) pitched six innings for his sixth straight win as the Nationals kicked off a 10-game homestand. He allowed three hits and two walks, striking out eight. The right-hander is 10-1 with a 3.17 ERA over his past 12 starts.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 2, INDIANS 1: Justin Smoak tied the game with a homer in the ninth inning and knocked in the winning run with a two-out single in the 10th as Toronto beat visiting Cleveland.
Smoak got the winning hit off lefty Tyler Olson (1-1), scoring Eric Sogard.
Toronto’s Ken Giles (2-2) pitched one inning and earned the win.
The Indians carried a three-hitter into the ninth before Smoak spoiled the shutout bid, homering with a one-out off closer Brad Hand. Smoak’s 17th homer was his second in two days. He hit a solo shot in Monday’s 7-3 loss to Cleveland.
Hand squandered a save opportunity for the second time in 29 chances.
INTERLEAGUE
MARLINS 5, WHITE SOX 1: Caleb Smith retired his first 17 batters and cruised through seven innings of two-hit ball, and Miami won at Chicago.
Curtis Granderson hit a two-run homer to cap Miami’s four-run fourth inning against Dylan Covey (1-6). Harold Ramirez added a solo shot in the fifth as the NL-worst Marlins ended a four-game skid.
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