Colon clubs historic 1st HR, defeats Padres

SAN DIEGO -- Lost in the stories, the standing ovations and the instant legend surrounding Bartolo Colon's first career homer was the simple fact that, in context, it was the critical component to the Mets winning a game.
Colon's two-run shot allowed the Mets to lead wire-to-wire Saturday night in a 6-3 win over the Padres, snapping the Mets' two-game skid.
"I don't even know how to explain it," Colon said. "I'm very thankful. I thank God for this amazing moment. I wasn't expecting it."

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Nor was Padres starter James Shields, who gave up a pair of two-run homers to Colon and Yoenis Cespedes. That accounted for all of New York's offense until David Wright and Michael Conforto hit admittedly less surreal back-to-back homers in the ninth. In addition to becoming ever more of a cult hero in Flushing with his performance at the plate, Colon delivered 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball to improve to 3-1.
"He was locating that sinker, man, and he was tough,'' Padres outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. said. "He had it going. I remember facing him when he was throwing 97 [mph] in Anaheim. He has lost some [velocity], but he is still doing it."
San Diego outfielder Jon Jay did stay hot with a three-run shot off Colon, drawing the Padres within a run of the lead in the third inning. But scoring for both sides stopped there until the ninth.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Bart's Shining Moment: When he went deep off Shields for his two-run shot in the second, Colon became the second-oldest Mets player to homer, and the oldest in big league history to hit his first career long ball. By the time Colon finished trudging around the bases in 30.6 seconds, the fourth-slowest home run trot this season, he had given the Mets a 4-0 lead. And his teammates were ready for him, giving Colon the silent treatment before mobbing the 42-year-old wonder.

"We all kind of said, 'What would we do if Bartolo hit a home run?'" Mets second baseman Neil Walker recalled, laughing. "That made everyone's career to witness that." More >
Painful bunt: The Padres' Jemile Weeks hit a sacrifice bunt to put Derek Norris at second base in the seventh. Weeks was poised to reach first with no one covering, but he strained his right hamstring while sprinting toward the bag. Colon tagged out Weeks as he was sprawled in the basepath, unable to rise. Reliever Jerry Blevins fanned Jay on a slow curveball to end the inning and strand Norris, maintaining the Mets 4-3 lead.

"It looks like [Weeks] is going on the DL," Padres manager Andy Green said. "It looks like he got it pretty good." More >
Still on fire: Colon was not the only Met to show some muscle against Shields. Cespedes' two-run homer in the first inning gave him 10 in 25 games this season, also moving him into the National League lead with 29 RBIs. But the day's overall offensive star was Wright, who reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances.

"The thing I feel good about is I am getting on base for the guys who are swinging the bats really well behind me," Wright said. "It's part of hitting at the top of the order."

Say Jay Kid: Jay got the Padres back into the game with his first homer of the season, a third-inning, three-run blast. That made it 4-3, with Norris and Shields, both aboard on singles, scoring ahead of Jay. It was also Jay's first home run as a Padre.

QUOTABLE
"Next question, man." -- Shields, on if he was surprised Colon hit his first career home run off himMore >
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Among the more bizarre stories to come out of Colon's first career home run is this one: Most offseasons, Colon plays in a Friday night softball game in Bonao, Dominican Republic, about an hour's drive from his hometown of Altamira. The game has a Home Run Derby-type atmosphere, and Colon said he often hits long balls there.

WHAT'S NEXT
Mets:Matt Harvey will look to become the second straight Mets pitcher to homer when he takes the mound Sunday in the 4:40 p.m. ET series finale at Petco. Realistically, Harvey is simply trying to put his rough start to the season behind him, relying on some mechanical adjustments to improve his 2-4 record and 4.76 ERA.
Padres: San Diego will attempt to win its last outing of a series for the first time this season and also clinch a series victory Sunday. Andrew Cashner (2-2) goes for his second straight win, with first pitch at 1:40 p.m. PT.
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