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SAN FRANCISCO -- Ronny Cedeno and Chris Young made the day a lot easier for Jason Bay, who calls playing left field in San Francisco during the day a nightmare.

Cedeno drove in five runs to match his career high, Bay had only his second multi-RBI game this year and the New York Mets beat San Francisco 9-1 Thursday to take three of four from the Giants and win their first series in a month.

"I'm seeing the ball well and trying to hit my pitch," Cedeno said. "I just want to be more patient and just see ball, hit ball."

Bay had two RBIs as Mets won for the fourth time in five games following a 2-14 slide. His only other multi-RBI game was April 13, when he hit a two-run homer against Philadelphia.

He was more concerned about playing defense.

"Every day game here is a nightmare," Bay said. "It's always been like this. You get the sun, it's windy and there are no clouds. You hope to get a big lead so you don't get one on the sun and blow it."

New York took a 4-0 lead in the first on Bay's two-run single and Cedeno's two-run double. Young took care of the rest.

David Wright had an RBI single in the second, and run-scoring singles by Bay and Cedeno made it 7-1 in the fifth. Cedeno had another two-run double in the seventh.

"This is the same team that went on a massive skid and came in here and took three of four from a first-place team," Bay said. "It is frustrating because it's there sometimes and it's not other times."

Young (3-5) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings, struck out four and walked none. He had been 0-4 with a 6.00 ERA in five starts since winning at the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 28.

"It was great to contribute to a win," Young said. "The guys set the tone early with all the runs. It gave me some room for error and allowed me to be aggressive."

Hunter Pence had a fourth-inning sacrifice fly for San Francisco, which has lost seven of eight since opening a three-game NL lead over the Dodgers on July 25. Melky Cabrera was a home run shy of a cycle.

"We've been awful here this last week," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We're in a rut right now, and it's not fun. How we press on from here will determine our season."

Barry Zito (8-8) gave up seven runs, six hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. San Francisco pitchers walked six in the game and 19 in the series.

"I had a couple of quick outs and then a couple of walks and that was the difference," said Zito, who has a first-inning ERA of 8.10. "You have to bear down and put them away. I was fighting myself a little bit."

Game notes

The Mets had their largest victory margin since routing the Phillies 11-1 on July 3 as they took two of three in that series. ... All-Star R.A. Dickey (14-2, 2.83) goes for the Mets when they play a series opener at San Diego on Friday night. He will be appearing in his second game at Petco Park. ... The Giants are sending RHP Ryan Vogelsong (8-5, 2.22) to the mound in Colorado on Friday night. The NL ERA leader has never lost to the Rockies in 10 appearances. ... Young had last faced the Giants in 2009, when he was 3-0 against them for the Padres. ... Giants C Buster Posey, given the day off, has 19 RBIs since the All-Star break. ... The Giants activated RHP Shane Loux and C Hector Sanchez from the disabled list after optioning OF Justin Christian and C Eli Whiteside to Triple-A Fresno. ... Mets LHP Johan Santana, on the DL with a sprained right ankle, threw his first full bullpen session and it to throw another Sunday.