NEW YORK -- Yoenis Cespedes was on the disabled list the last time the New York Mets posted a series victory.
After Cespedes enjoyed a productive night in his return from a hip injury, he is expected to be in the starting lineup as the designated hitter Saturday afternoon when the Mets continue a three-game series at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees.
New York's last series victory occurred when the Mets swept the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 18-20. Since then, the Mets are 0-11-5 in their last 16 series, which is why the team could look different in two weeks after the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline.
On Friday, Cespedes helped the Mets open the series with a 7-5 victory by homering off the left-field foul pole in the fourth inning while reaching base three times.
The Mets went 20-37 while waiting for Cespedes to recover and are 20-18 when he plays this season. They are 129-122 when he plays in the last three seasons after re-signing the outfielder following his acquisition at the 2015 trade deadline from the Detroit Tigers.
To keep him in the lineup, the Mets said they will be proactive in monitoring how Cespedes feels and even make him a late scratch if necessary.
"The one thing that we have to do is be proactive in making sure we do everything we can to keep him on the field as much as possible," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said before his team upped its record to 40-55. "He's got a routine that has to go goes through to get ready every night and we're going to monitor that routine quite ostensibly."
Although Cespedes enjoyed a successful return and is expected to play, he said his various leg problems are caused by pain in his heels.
"The only way that I can avoid having my heels from keep bothering me or getting me hurt is having the surgery," he said through an interpreter. "I'm still thinking about (having the surgery) because the recovery process takes 8-to-10 months.''
If Cespedes or the other hitters help the Mets get a lead and create a possible save situation, Jeruys Familia might not be the one closing it out. He did not pitch because Callaway was instructed not to use him because of a possible trade. Robert Gsellman finished off the win as reports surfaced that an unknown team was finalizing a trade for Familia, who has 123 career saves.
"It's tough," Familia said. "All my career is here. I love my team (and) my teammates."
The Yankees aren't concerned with managing a power hitter's pregame routine or holding players out after going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranding 14 Friday while getting 14 hits without a homer.
"I think it's always frustrating when you have so many opportunities," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "It's always frustrating, but you know it's part of it and the biggest thing is you want to keep creating those opportunities and trust that a good run is production with those guys out there is upon us."
Instead, the Yankees are focused on getting some big hits and trying to gain ground in the AL East.
After a frustrating showing in the series opener, the Yankees are 5 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox, who beat Detroit 1-0 on Friday. It is New York's largest deficit since April 22. The Yankees are 8-7 in their last 15 games since taking two of three from Boston.
"There's nothing you can do about it," Boone said. "We got to take care of business. We got to get rolling. I can't look at the scoreboard and will it the other way, unfortunately. So this is about us right now and this is about us getting on a good streak and that starts tomorrow."
Sonny Gray, whose maddening inconsistencies were among few things to go wrong before the All-Star break, starts for the Yankees. Gray went 6-7 with a 5.46 ERA in 18 starts and is 10-14 with a 4.73 ERA in 29 starts for the Yankees.
Gray's last start was among his best of the season when he allowed three hits and struck out eight in six innings during a 9-0 win on July 11 at Baltimore.
While Gray has allowed two earned runs or less in in eight starts, he also has been tagged for at least five runs six times.
Perhaps the biggest disparity for Gray is his performance against teams with winning records vs. teams with losing marks. In nine starts against teams with losing marks, Gray is 4-1 with a 3.56 ERA. In nine starts against winning teams, he is 2-6 with a 7.59 ERA.
Gray's only previous start against the Mets occurred Aug. 15 at Yankee Stadium when he allowed two runs and five hits in six innings of a 5-4 win.
Steven Matz, who went 4-7 with a 3.38 ERA before the All-Star break, starts for the Mets. Matz will make his third attempt at getting his 20th career win after taking losses to the Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals.
He allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay and three runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings on July 12 in a 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals when he opposed Max Scherzer.
Matz has allowed two earned runs or fewer nine times and the Mets are 5-4 in those games.
Although Cespedes enjoyed a successful return and is expected to play, he said his various leg problems are caused by pain in his heels.
"The only way that I can avoid my heels from keep bothering me or getting me hurt is having the surgery," he said through an interpreter. "I'm still thinking about (having the surgery) because the recovery process takes 8-to-10 months.''
