"Right now, he's just not hitting the ball like he did," manager Terry Collins said.
His key at-bat came in the sixth, as the Mets were threatening to make one of their now-signature comebacks in a five-run game. With runners on first and second and no outs, Cespedes swung and missed at three consecutive pitches -- the last of them a 95-mph fastball that tickled the top of the strike zone. He offered at 10 balls in total on the afternoon, putting just three of them in play.