SECOND TO NONE

OK, so it wasn’t a typical get ’em over assignment for Mets second-place hitter Yoenis Cespedes on Thursday.

It was more get ’em in because they got on. And Cespedes complied.

Potentially the biggest bat in the Mets’ order delivered two hits and, more importantly, three RBIs as just one of the many offensive highlights in a 9-4 shredding of the Cardinals at Citi Field.

“I was speaking about that with [Asdrubal] Cabrera, and it happened I was hitting second in the lineup, and I had the opportunity to hit with a couple runners on base,” Cespedes said afterward through an interpreter.

Actually, there were lots of runners on base. Cespedes’ biggest hit came in the second inning, when with the bases loaded, he drove an 0-2 slider from Cardinals starter and loser Carlos Martinez to left for a two-run single that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead at the time. During the Mets’ decisive five-run fifth inning, Cespedes jumped on another 0-2 pitch and singled to left-center field, driving in Amed Rosario.

So why get ’em over when you can get ’ em in? And if you can do so down 0-2 in the count, that’s special.

“I just have to focus when I have two strikes and mostly when I have runners on base I have to focus more,” said Cespedes, who battled a sore wrist throughout much of spring training. “That’s it.”

Simple. By gum it’s so crazy, it just might work — especially when the pitcher hits eighth.

“Cespedes came up to bat a lot of times today with runners on and runners in scoring position, and that’s what we want,” said manager Mickey Callaway, whose debut was a success thanks to a 12-hit, nine-run offense and a 10-strikeout, six-inning starting effort by Noah Syndergaard. “Now that’s not always going to happen. The main thing is we want Cespedes to take as many at bats as possible this year. I can’t guarantee he’s always going to hit second, but it worked out tonight.”

Everything worked offensively Thursday. Every starter but the pitcher reached base.

“Like I said [Wednesday], this team has a lot of things to do,” Cespedes said. “Everybody is doing their stuff. Supporting and doing what they have to do and that’s what we have to do during the season.

“We have the talent and the quality. We just have to work on our strike zone to choose better pitches and make better swings.”