Max Scherzer, Mark Canha power Mets past Phillies to complete sweep with 4-2 win

The Mets needed a sweep as badly as Mark Canha needed home runs. They got both of those this week in a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Canha powered the Mets past the Phillies for the second time in as many days with another two-run homer that helped the team defeat its NL East rivals 4-2 on Thursday afternoon at Citi Field. His timely hitting has been crucial for the Mets in the series and he’s been responsible for six of the Mets’ eight runs.

Right-hander Taijuan Walker made his Citi Field return and took the loss thanks to Canha’s shot in the bottom of the fourth. The Mets (30-27) were down 2-1 when the outfielder took a 3-1 fastball over the fence in left-center field. Walker left a 90 MPH fastball right out over the middle of the plate. It was a meatball of a pitch and Canha did what good hitters do with that kind of pitch, homering for the fifth time this season.

Max Scherzer put together his fourth straight strong outing. (Bebeto Matthews/AP)

That inning was the end for Walker (4-3). His outing started with a tribute video on the Citi Field scoreboard and ended on a much less positive note.

The positive outing came from Max Scherzer. The first-inning woes continued when the Phillies (25-31) strung together two runs in the first inning. The Mets have been outscored 45-13 in the first frames of games this season and it has proven costly at times.

But Scherzer (5-2) had two easy innings and cruised from there, going seven innings total and giving the Mets six scoreless ones. The Mets’ ace has now turned in back-to-back seven-inning games and it’s easy to see just how significantly different the team is when starters go at least six innings: The Mets are 16-0 in games where their starting pitcher tosses six and 6-0 when one goes seven.

It seems insane to think that the Mets have only had a starter face the lineup three times through six times this season, but it’s been a strange year. Scherzer was replaced by Jeff Brigham in the eighth inning after giving up only two runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk while striking out nine.

Walker allowed three earned on two hits, walked three and struck out two. The Mets took one off left-hander Matt Strahm in the sixth to tack on an insurance run.

Brigham held the lead for left-hander Brooks Raley, who turned the ball over to Drew Smith for a one-out save, the second of his career and the season. The first pitch to Drew Ellis went right into the glove of Brandon Nimmo.

The trends are positive right now: The starters are continually going deep, the defense is solid and the Mets have now hit home runs in 15 straight games. Far too often this season, the team has taken big steps forward, only to take bigger steps back.

Now, the challenge for the Mets is to keep the momentum and build on it.