Robinson Cano homers three times, leading Mets to victory over Padres

It took a half-season longer than the Mets wanted, but the version of Robinson Cano they thought they were getting — the perennial All-Star, the former Yankees standout, the all-time-great offensive second baseman — might have finally arrived.

Cano crushed three home runs and had five RBIs Tuesday night, the best game of his disappointing season, in a 5-2 win against the Padres. That gives him five long balls in 10 games since the All-Star break, passing his total from the first half (four homers in 65 games).

This was the first three-homer game of Cano’s 15-season major-league career. Only two other Mets, Lucas Duda and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, have gone deep three times in a game at Shea Stadium or Citi Field.

“As a player, that’s a thing in the game that you would like to do to see how it feels,” Cano said.

Then he broke into a big, cheesing smile.

“And, I mean, this really feels good.”

Or as manager Mickey Callaway put it: “This game is crazy. That’s why it’s the best game in the world. Anything can happen.”

The strong start to Cano’s second half probably comes too late for it to matter much in the near term for the Mets (46-54), who are toiling in fourth in the NL East. But a personal resurgence late in his first year back in New York — after joining the team alongside Edwin Diaz in the blockbuster winter trade with the Mariners — would inspire confidence in what he can provide moving forward. Cano, 36, has four years and $96 million left on his contract after 2019.

“The power is there, the swing is there, the hands are there,” Callaway said. “He went through a tough stretch. Robinson Cano probably hasn’t been through many of them in his career. Almost everybody else has.”

The first two shots Tuesday came off rookie righthander Chris Paddack (five innings, three runs). Cano put one in the upper deck in rightfield in the fourth, then sent a two-run fly ball into the Mets’ bullpen in right-center in the sixth. An inning later, facing rookie Logan Allen, Cano reached the rightfield upper deck again.

Having also singled in the first, Cano finished 4-for-4. The rest of the Mets were 4-for-27.

Cano’s only previous homer at Citi Field this season came April 6. This trio of dingers averaged 409 feet and 105.3 mph.

Still hitting just .254, the lowest average of his career, with a .716 OPS, one point from the lowest of his career, Cano said he has remained upbeat throughout this trying season.

“I always stay positive,” said Cano, insisting he feels the same at the plate now as he has all year. “I know how hard I work in the offseason, even if I don’t post videos like a lot of guys. I know how hard I work, all the stuff that I do to be able to come here and do my job.” 

A piece of the puzzle that is Cano’s season: his hands. In recently discussing his mostly missing power, Cano repeatedly cited he was hit in the right hand twice — April 21 and 28 — though he also stressed that it wasn’t an excuse for hitting poorly. Last year, Cano had surgery on his broken right hand (which he recovered from while suspended for testing positive for a banned substance).

“When he’s going good, he can still be an elite hitter,” Callaway said before the game. “He’s always going to be able to hit. These Hall of Fame-type hitters, they don’t lose that ability to hit. Are they going to go through probably rougher patches as they get older? Yes. That’s just reality. But you’re going to look up at the end of most of these years and he’s going to have some pretty good years, because he can just flat-out hit.”

Jason Vargas allowed one hit in six shutout innings, flummoxing the Padres with a mid-80s fastball and what Callaway called a “wicked changeup.” He struck out eight and walked four, including Manny Machado twice.

Vargas, whose next start is scheduled for Sunday against the Pirates, is among the Mets who could be moved before the July 31 trade deadline — and several teams have inquired about him, a source said. He has a 3.96 ERA on the season and 3.17 ERA since April 19, after a couple of bad starts and a quick bullpen stint to begin the year.

Also 36, Vargas can appreciate a night like Cano had.

“The longer you play, the more you appreciate it and you probably realize that it doesn’t last forever,” Vargas said. “So even with how long Robbie’s played and all the great things he’s done and the great games that he’s had, to have his first three-homer game be tonight [is special].

“We all run out of time, so special games like that are something to take note of.”