NEW YORK -- Yoenis Cespedes cranked his first home run of the season in the fifth inning of Saturday's 6-2 win over the Cardinals at Citi Field, maintaining the pace he set during a power-packed spring.
Cespedes redirected a Michael Wacha curveball below the strike zone over the left-field fence, depositing it a projected 392 feet away, according to Statcast™. It was his first regular-season home run since last Aug. 24, just before the Mets shut him down with a right hamstring strain. Cespedes, who hit a career-high 35 home runs in 2015 and 31 the following year, mustered just 17 last year as he battled multiple hamstring injuries.
But Cespedes returned this spring to hammer six Grapefruit League home runs, then hit his first regular-season homer in the Mets' second game.
The Mets, who scored nine runs on Opening Day without the benefit of a homer, received their first long ball of the season one inning earlier, courtesy of Travis d'Arnaud. Cespedes' shot gave them a 4-1 lead.

"I just got a good pitch to hit in a 3-2 count," d'Arnaud said. "I made sure I kept my eye on it, and fortunately got a positive result."