Mark Canha smacks tying and go-ahead homers to rally Mets past Phillies
Mets' Mark Canha, right, reacts past Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022, in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
PHILADELPHIA — Even in a season with lots of worthy contenders, the Mets’ 10-9 win over the Phillies on Sunday may have been their most unlikely — and absurd — of the year.
After surviving seven innings with pitchers spending their first day in the majors, plus falling behind 4-0 in the first inning and 7-4 in the fourth, the Mets took a 9-8 lead in the ninth on Mark Canha’s second home run, a two-run blast to leftfield. He also had a tying three-run shot in the seventh in his three-hit, five-RBI effort.
“Our guys thought there was a game there to be won,” Buck Showalter said. “They did what it took.”
When he lined a two-run shot over the leftfield wall, Canha flipped his bat about 40 feet upward. After rounding first, he raised both arms, looked skyward and clapped his hands. He hadn’t had many big moments in his first year with the Mets, he said, “so it’s nice to finally get one.”
For the typically even-keeled Canha, that outward jubilance represented a one-upping of Jean Segura’s flamboyant trip around the bases in the eighth. His pinch-hit homer off Trevor May had put the Phillies ahead again, so he celebrated with a jump-and-fist-pump move that sent his helmet flying.
That caught Canha’s attention.
“When that happened,” he said, “I kind of just told myself, ‘All right, it’s your turn next time. You’re going to do it again. You’re going to win it.’ ”
Canha’s game-changer came off David Robertson, who was in the game only because the Phillies lost closer Seranthony Dominguez to an arm injury. Robertson had thrown 36 pitches in a two-inning save Saturday. When the Phillies pulled him for Tyler Cyr, who was appearing in his first game, Brandon Nimmo added a home run.
That proved huge. In the bottom of the ninth, Edwin Diaz gave up a run for the first time in more than two months after 21 straight scoreless outings. After singles by J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos, Bryson Stott and Nick Maton — each representing the potential winning run — hit fly balls to the warning track before pinch hitter Darick Hall went down looking for the final out.
Jose Butto and Nate Fisher, each making his major-league debut, got the Mets into the late innings. Fisher tossed three scoreless innings of relief but Butto struggled in his start, allowing his first four batters and six of the first seven to reach base (and allowing four of them to score). He allowed seven runs, six on Alec Bohm’s pair of three-run homers, but managed to navigate through four innings — a minor miracle, considering he was one baserunner away from getting pulled in the first. Bradley Zimmer struck out swinging, so Butto stayed in.
Key to his survival was the decision to move away from his changeup, which is considered his best pitch, to favor his curveball and a new slider. He threw those nearly twice as often as the change. That switch came after the ugly opening inning.
“Butto did not implode and break after the first inning,” Showalter said. “I look back at that [as significant].”
Butto said through an interpreter: “I was able to settle in and execute my pitches a little better. I was able to get on the same page with the catcher [Michael Perez]. I felt like I had good results after that first inning.”
The Mets rallied to make it 4-4 in the fourth and 7-7 in the seventh. “In the dugout, we never felt like we were out of that game,” Canha said.
That wrapped up a seven-day, 4-4 road trip that technically will continue with two more games as the away team at Yankee Stadium on Monday and Tuesday. With 39 games left, the Mets (79-44) lead second-place Atlanta by four games in the NL East.
“It’s been an emotional week,” Canha said. “Tough series in Atlanta, tough series here, lots of rain delays and long days at the ballpark. I’m proud of this team and the way we’ve battled, especially today, at the end of the road trip. It didn’t seem like it was going our way. It was nice to get that type of win.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
