SAN FRANCISCO -- Noah Syndergaard overpowered the San Francisco Giants on Sunday night.

Then Yoenis Cespedes took it to another level.

Cespedes provided Syndergaard all the offensive support he needed with a two-run home run in the seventh inning as the New York Mets duo combined to knock out the Giants in a 2-0 victory.

"If you're going to win, your good players have to play good. We ride those guys," said Mets manager Terry Collins, who recorded his 900th career win. "Hopefully this is the start of what we want to do."

Syndergaard shut out the Giants on two hits over eight innings as the Mets managed a split of the four-game series after losing the first two games Thursday and Friday.

The Mets (62-62) climbed back to .500, but they remain 4 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals (66-57) in the race for the second National League wild card.

New York, 3-4 so far on a 10-game trip, and the Cardinals open a three-game series in St. Louis on Tuesday.

"We just want to start to build on this," Collins said of the Saturday and Sunday wins. "That's what we're looking at."

The Giants (68-56) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (68-55) also duel in an important three-game set beginning Tuesday, with the Dodgers taking a half-game lead in the NL West into the series at Chavez Ravine.

San Francisco currently resides in the first wild-card spot, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Cardinals.

Syndergaard and Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija had dueling shutouts going until the seventh, an inning Samardzija began with a no-hitter.

Curtis Granderson led off the inning with a double, ending the no-hit bid, before Cespedes launched a tremendous blast just inside the left field foul pole.

The blast was measured at just 417 feet, but it nonetheless landed in a spot none other has in game action this season. The ball cleared the left field bleachers before touching down on a cement walkway.

Cespedes insisted he had more important things to do than mark where it landed.

"I was watching that ball, pushing it mentally so that it would not go foul," he said.

The homer was Cespedes' third in the two weekend wins. He returned from the disabled list Friday, having recovered from a quad injury some speculated resulted from playing golf.

"The golf swing, it paid off," Collins said with a laugh when discussing Cespedes' ability to elevate a pitch that was down in the strike zone. "It was a tee shot."

Added Giants manager Bruce Bochy, "It wasn't that bad a pitch. (Cespedes) just went down and got it and hit it out."

Syndergaard (11-7) took a no-hitter of his own into the fourth and never allowed a Giants baserunner past first base.

Eduardo Nunez's infield hit and Joe Panik's line single to left field were the Giants' only hits off him. He also walked two and struck out six.

Mets closer Jeurys Familia completed the shutout with a one-hit ninth for his 41st save.

Buster Posey had a pinch-hit single in the ninth off Familia for the Giants, who failed in their quest to record their first home series win since July 8-10.

The victory was the 20th of Syndergaard's career in his 49th appearance, making him the eighth pitcher in Mets history to reach the mark in fewer than 50 games.

"Excellent defense behind me, that really helped out," said Syndergaard, whose catcher, Rene Rivera, threw out two Giants on steal attempts. "Cespedes' huge two-run bomb got us on the board ... Just an awesome team win."

Samardzija (10-9) was pulled after the seventh inning, having allowed two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out seven.

"He did a terrific job; he gave us a chance against one of the best," Bochy said. "You're not going to see better stuff than what we faced tonight. I don't know who would have hit (Syndergaard) tonight. He was that good."

The duel came from two pitchers who had a history of struggles against their opponent.

Syndergaard entered the game with a 6.17 ERA against the Giants in two previous starts, having been roughed up for eight runs in 11 2/3 innings in a pair of home games. He never previously pitched at AT&T Park.

Samardzija had been 0-3 with an 8.72 in nine previous outings against the Mets.

James Loney and Rivera had the only other hits for the Mets, who out-hit the Giants 4-3.

NOTES: New York manager Terry Collins' 900th win was his 456th with the Mets. He is the 10th active manager, including the Giants' Bruce Bochy, to reach the milestone. ... Giants RHP Jeff Samardzija never previously completed six full innings with a no-hitter. His longest no-hit bid had been 5 2/3 innings for the Chicago White Sox on July 4, 2015, against the Baltimore Orioles. ... Bochy announced, as expected, the Giants will skip their fifth starter on Monday's day off and start their three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night with ace LHP Madison Bumgarner. ... Mets manager Terry Collins has opted not to do the same on his club's day off Monday. He will stick with LHP Jonathon Niese to begin a three-game series in St. Louis on Tuesday.