NEW YORK -- Prior to Friday night’s game against the Mets, Giants manager Gabe Kapler was asked to compare catcher Patrick Bailey to San Francisco legend Buster Posey.

Kapler’s response: pump the brakes. Bailey has been in the league for a little over a month.

“Let’s just let things unfold,” Kapler said.

After San Francisco edged the Mets 5-4 at Citi Field, though, it sounded like Kapler had begun to change his tune, having witnessed one of the rookie’s best games of the season. Bailey crushed the game-winning three-run homer off reliever David Robertson in the top of the eighth inning, then did his best impersonation of Johnny Bench in the ninth, throwing out Starling Marte, representing the tying run, as he tried to steal second base.

“That was as good as it gets,” Kapler said. “That was superstar-caliber stuff. A big three-run home run against one of the tougher relievers in baseball. Absolute perfect throw.”

When Bailey was in the Minor Leagues, he was projected to be a strong defensive catcher, likely no more than a backup. His offensive stats were not impressive. In 193 Minor League games, Bailey batted .251.

Since making his Major League debut on May 19th, Bailey is more than just a backup catcher. In fact, he’s one of San Francisco’s best players, hitting .322 with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 33 games.

“It feels like I’ve played 33 games. I feel like I’m getting into the routine of things, just playing baseball every day,” Bailey said. “It’s just sticking to the game plan, whatever that may be against a certain pitcher. … Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

• Giants place their trust in Bailey behind plate

On why he has improved in the batter’s box, Bailey said, “A lot of the credit is the way the game changes in the big leagues, especially from the catching side. The defense is more valuable, and I think it takes a lot of pressure off the hitting. Anything I can do at the plate is kind of looked at as a bonus. I just go up, try to stick to my approach. If it works out, great. If it doesn’t, I’ll catch up.”

Bailey caught up to Robertson in the eighth inning. With San Francisco down, 4-2, entering the frame, Joc Pederson reached base on an error by first baseman Pete Alonso and J.D. Davis followed with a walk. Up next, Bailey hit a 1-1 pitch over the center-field fence to give San Francisco a one-run lead. According to Statcast, the home run came off his bat at 107.3 mph, with a projected distance of 432 feet.

New York had a chance to at least tie the score in the bottom of the ninth. With Marte on first base as a pinch-runner with one out, Bailey and closer Camilo Doval were reminded by quality assurance coach Nick Ortiz that Marte, who has 21 steals on the season, could be running. Sure enough, Marte made the attempt. Bailey threw him out.

“[Doval] did a job of getting one of his quicker moves to the plate,” Bailey said. “Fortunately, it was a fastball up and I was able to put a good throw [to second base].”

The homer by Bailey took right-hander Alex Cobb off the hook, leaving him with a no-decision. After missing time with a left oblique strain, Cobb returned to the mound and pitched five innings, allowing three runs [two earned] on six hits with three strikeouts.

After allowing two runs in the first two innings, Cobb settled in and retired eight of the next nine hitters he faced.

“No issues. Maybe a little bit tired because we got in so late last night [from Toronto],” Cobb said. “Physically, nothing wrong with the oblique. I’m very happy about that.”