NEW YORK -- Hours after he teed off on reporters wanting to know if Yoenis Cespedes' trips to the golf course resulted in an injury, New York Mets manager Terry Collins watched his newest bat drive a ball nearly 400 feet.

Jay Bruce hit a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the fifth inning and the Mets capped another frustrating day of injury news with a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Mets (56-52) won for the ninth time in their last 23 games thanks to Bruce, who had been hitless in his first 10 at-bats after being acquired from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday and last 19 overall since homering off San Francisco Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner on July 27.

Bruce ended his drought by slicing a 1-1 breaking pitch from Nathan Eovaldi (9-8) over the right-center field wall and into the Yankees bullpen.

"Felt like my first big league home run running the bases," said Bruce, who had the team's championship wrestling belt by his locker.

"He's a good hitter," Collins said. "That's what he can do. That's why you look at what he's done with runners in scoring position, he's put up huge numbers. We need that right now."

The drive prompted smiles inside the Mets dugout and chants of "Bruce, Bruce" from the many Met fans in the crowd.

"That was awesome," Mets third baseman Kelly Johnson said. "That's a big homer. It's a good time for his first one."

It was Bruce's sixth straight hit that went over the fence and 54 of his 99 hits this season have been singles.

"I think it's big for everybody," Collins said.

The home run came about five hours after Collins emphatically defended Cespedes playing golf Wednesday before he re-injured his right quadriceps in the ninth inning on a swing. Cespedes was placed on the disabled list Thursday and the Mets will have to wait another two weeks to see the impact of their two big outfield bats.

"The whole team is ready to step up and pick up the slack, until he gets back," Bruce said.

Before Bruce's first big hit with his new team, Johnson made it 1-0 by hooking the first pitch of the fifth down the right field line.

The drives by Johnson and Bruce were enough for Bartolo Colon (10-6), who Collins said had his best stuff and Bruce described as "ageless." Making his third start in nine days, Colon allowed one run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings and reached double-digit victories for the 13th time.

"We just weren't able to do much," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He was just being Bart."

Aaron Hicks had an RBI single in the seventh off Jerry Blevins but the inning ended when shortstop Matt Reynolds forced Hicks out at second. Addison Reed pitched a hitless eighth and Jeruys Familia ended his major league-leading 38th save by getting Rob Refsnyder on a double play grounder.

The Yankees (54-54) lost for the sixth time in eight games as Eovaldi allowed four runs and five hits in seven innings.

"Backdoor slider, got ahead, fastball up and in and then backdoor slider again and he hit it out," Eovaldi said of the Bruce home run.

Alex Rodriguez did not start for the 10th time in the last 11 games despite a career .442 average off Colon and was not even in the on deck circle when the Yankees put two on in the ninth against Familia.

It was a move that surprised many, including Colon, who said through a translator: "He's always hit well against me. I always say, 'that's my dad.'

NOTES: Mets manager Terry Collins gave a terse 276-word response when discussing any connections between Yoenis Cespedes landing on the disabled list due to a strained right quadriceps and the outfielder's golf game. Collins interrupted two questions and emphatically answered another by saying that golf didn't cause the injury. ... Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez did not play again despite having a .442 average (23-for-52) against Mets RHP Bartolo Colon. Manager Joe Girardi said he is unsure when Rodriguez will get his next start and also said nobody from the Yankees' upper management has ordered him not to play the 41-year-old. Coincidentally, Thursday marked the ninth anniversary of his 500th home run and the sixth anniversary of No. 600. ... The Yankees announced RHP Luis Severino will start Tuesday in Boston. ... The Yankees also optioned RHP Chad Green to Scranton/Wilkes Barre and recalled RHP Johnny Barbato from the Triple-A club. ... To replace Cespedes on the roster, the Mets recalled OF Brandon Nimmo.