Ces slam may be big swing

Steven Matz walked out to the on-deck circle in the bottom of the fourth inning Wednesday night at Citi Field with his helmet on and a bat in hand. The Mets had already scored one run in the inning, and with runners on first and third, they were threatening to bring home another, further cutting into the Nationals’ lead.

Matz had retired the last 10 batters he faced, and the lefthander expected to bat for himself. But Matz was pulled back into the dugout by manager Mickey Callaway. Pinch hitter Brandon Nimmo would bat in his place. Matz’s fourth start of the season was over after just 74 pitches.

Matz was irate. He smashed his bat into the bat rack and threw his helmet onto the ground before taking a seat on the bench. Pitching coach Dave Eiland and Callaway then walked over to offer their starter some words of encouragement.

Nimmo was hit by a pitch in his at-bat before Amed Rosario grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Mets scored two runs in the mini rally but still trailed the Nationals by one entering the fifth. The game changed in the eighth inning when the Mets put up nine runs. They finished the night with an 11-5 victory, and Callaway’s decision to yank Matz early was no longer a source

In the bottom of the fifth Wednesday night, Yoenis Cespedes swung through a 92mph fastball from Nationals starter Tanner Roark for his second strikeout of the game and 29th of the season, equalling the total of Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton for second-most in the majors.

It seemed Cespedes’ miserable start to 2018 was continuing — until one swing of the bat in the Mets’ nine-run eighth inning, a rally that helped catapult the Amazin’s to a much-needed 11-5 win over Washington in the series finale at Citi Field.

The Mets had already taken a two-run lead on a Juan Lagares double when Cespedes came to the plate for the second time in the inning, this time with the bases loaded. He turned on an 0-2 fastball up in the zone from Nationals reliever A.J. Cole and lined it over the left-field fence for his fifth grand slam as a Met. Only Mike Piazza hit more while donning the blue and orange.

Could this one swing change everything for Cespedes?

“I really hope so,” the Cuban outfielder said through a translator after the game.

For Cespedes, the grand slam was just his second extra-base hit since April 7, and he still is only hitting .217. But he leads the Mets with 17 RBI.

“Every at bat I get, if I strike out or if I don’t strike out, I got to be ready and prepared,” Cespedes said.

VARGAS GETS CLOSER

Jason Vargas is nearing a return to the majors, and once the lefthander is ready to take the mound for his Mets debut, manager Mickey Callaway will have a decision to make.

Will he send Zack Wheeler back to the minor leagues? Will he remove one of his starters from the AP rotation and send him to the bullpen, like he did with Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman?

There is a third option Callaway is considering — the six-man rotation, a possibility the skipper floated during spring training and one he said remains on the table as Vargas continues to heal from the broken bone in his non-pitching hand he suffered in March.

“We’re looking at it,” Callaway said before the win.

Vargas threw six innings in an intra-squad game Tuesday in Florida and “came through great,” according to pitching coach Dave Eiland. He’ll need to pitch in a minor-league game before returning.

Vargas could be ready when the Mets play a three-game series at San Deigo next weekend.

NO RELIEF FOR SWAR

Reliever Anthony Swarzak (left oblique strain) felt “uncomfortable” while throwing on flat ground Tuesday and has been shut down for the next few days.