Cespedes' home run keeps Mets rolling

New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, left, is congratulated by first baseman Wilmer Flores after hitting a two-run home run during the seventh inning of Tuesday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds.

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Yoenis Cespedes rescued the New York Mets again.

The left fielder hit a go-ahead, two-run homer to lift the Mets to a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park. Cespedes’ homer helped the Mets (73-66) to their fourth straight win, and was one of four homers the team hit.

The Mets now have won 13 straight games against the Reds dating to 2014, despite receiving only 4 1⁄3 innings from Rafael Montero, who allowed three runs.

The Mets trailed 3-2 in the seventh when Cespedes, as he does so often, changed the game with one swing.

Asdrubal Cabrera beat out an infield single with one out, then Cespedes walloped a 2-2 slider from Michael Lorenzen just over the center-field wall at the 404-foot mark to provide a 4-3 lead.

The homer was the team’s third of the night, and the first four runs all scored on round-trippers. Curtis Granderson hit one to right-center for a 1-0 lead in the second, and Jose Reyes led off the third with one that stayed fair down the left-field line to make it a 2-0 game.

Granderson’s homer gave him four in the past seven days, and it appears the veteran may be heating up after extended struggles that led to decreased playing time.

Alejandro De Aza added a solo shot in the ninth.

The long balls by Granderson and Reyes were the only damage the Mets produced against Brandon Finnegan, despite forcing the lefty to toss 105 pitches over five innings. The Mets put at least one runner on in each of those innings, and stranded two in the fifth when Joey Votto made a diving grab to prevent Wilmer Flores from driving in the go-ahead run in a 2-2 game.

Cespedes’ heroics took Montero off the hook after the right-hander once again struggled with his command, which resulted in an ineffective inning.

He walked four, giving him 10 in 9 1⁄3 innings in two starts.

Montero somehow worked around six walks to produce five scoreless innings last week against Miami, but the walks Tuesday played a role in both innings the Reds scored.

Montero walked a batter in the first and second innings and emerged unscathed, then issued a one-out walk in the third. With two outs and a runner at second, Montero surrendered an opposite-field, two-run homer by Adam Duvall that tied it up.

The hit snapped an 0-for-27 skid with runners in scoring position by Mets’ opponents dating to the ninth inning of Friday’s win over the Nationals.