Cespedes shows off arm with key putout

YOENIS CESPEDES proved to 38,878 Mets fans Saturday night that he’s more than just a hitter.

In the ninth inning with the game tied 3-3 and the bases empty with one out, Pirates utility man Sean Rodriguez drilled a shot into the left center field gap off closer Jeurys Familia.

Cespedes misplayed the ball off the wall and watched as it bounced to his right. Rodriguez eyed the mistake and was flying around the bases with his head down to take third. While in careful pursuit of the ball on the warning track, Cespedes flashed a quick glance to the infield, surveying his target.

Cespedes picked up the ball and fired a rocket into third baseman Juan Uribe, who snared the ball and nailed Rodriguez with a tag. He was out by what seemed like a mile. Rookie outfielder Michael Conforto stood in awe with his hands on his hips, shaking his head at the Cuban slugger.

Rodriguez fell victim to the Cespedes cannon, just like so many before him who have tried to test it. He knew he made a mistake.

“You know, in truth, I know he’s got that kind of arm strength,” Rodriguez told the Daily News while lacing up his shoes in front of his locker in the visitor’s dugout after the game. “I didn’t know he’d be that accurate from that far away, though.

“That’s probably one in a lifetime right there.”

After Rodriguez was called out, he said he just looked at third base coach Rick Sofield and asked, “He didn’t hit the (cutoff man) did he?” Sofield said, “Nope.” “I said, ‘My God,’” Rodriguez said with a laugh.

“Just going out and getting the ball and throwing it where I’m supposed to throw it,” said Cespedes. “It works out that I get the out.”

Last June, when Cespedes was still with the Oakland Athletics, he made a similar throw in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 1-1 game in Anaheim to nab Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick at home. That play lit up highlight reels for months.

Angles outfielder Mike Trout ripped a line drive down the left field line, which Cespedes misplayed. Kendrick was barreling around the bases from first and tried to score. Cespedes stayed composed, glanced into the infield to see where the ball needed to go and threw it 303 feet in the air to catch Kendrick by at least two strides at the plate.

When asked to compare the two throws, Cespedes just referred to the distance. He gave a light shrug of his shoulders and said, “I don’t know what I threw it here, in terms of distance, but in Anaheim, that was 303 feet so that seems to be (the decisive factor).”