Inside The Mets

Taijuan Walker, Mark Canha Lead Mets to Series Win Over Nationals

Taijuan Walker and Mark Canha led the Mets to a series win over the Nationals on Thursday.

Pat Ragazzo

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WASHINGTON -- This Mets' pitcher appeared to be playing through the pain in Thursday's 4-1 rubber-game victory over the Nationals. 

Starter Taijuan Walker, who looked to be dealing with some discomfort in his latest outing, produced a much-needed bounce-back performance across seven shutout innings.

Walker was seen using a heating pad on his back in between innings, but this didn't stop him from dominating on the mound. The righty allowed just three hits on 85 pitches, stifling the Nats' lineup all afternoon. Walker lowered his ERA down to 3.00 on the season.

He also fielded his position well on numerous occasions, snagging a hard chopper back at him in the bottom of the sixth on a leaping grab, as well as colliding with Juan Soto during a rundown to tag him out. 

Following the win, Walker downplayed whatever might have been nagging him throughout his start. 

“Just staying warm," Walker said. "(I was a) little tight, but it was nothing serious. I felt good, body felt good, arm felt good.”

After getting shelled for seven runs against the Phillies in his last outing, Walker made the proper adjustments in order to bounce-back on Thursday. 

"Throwing more curveballs," Walker said of the adjustments he made. "My biggest thing this time around was trying to get ahead. I wanted to go attack them. We put up runs early, so it was easy to do that." 

Walker's offseason knee surgery, mixed with an early-season stint on the I.L. for shoulder bursitis, has kept him from fully stretching out to this point. But the righty was able to reach 85 pitches across seven innings on Thursday, and now believes his restrictions will be lifted moving forward. 

Seth Lugo recorded his eighth straight scoreless appearance, lowering his ERA to 2.92. Although he gave up a solo homer to Soto, Edwin Diaz notched his eighth save of the season to secure Walker's first victory of the year. 

The Mets have won nine of their first 10 series to open up the regular season. They're 22-11, and hold the best record in the National League. New York went 4-2 on their roadtrip in Philly and D.C., and will now head home for seven-games with the Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals. 

Hitter of the Game

The Mets hand out belt honors to the pitcher and hitter of the game after every win. Pitchers receive a shiny WWE belt, however, the team does not have a physical belt to distribute to the hitter of the day.

Mark Canha received this invisible belt for his strong showing at the plate in the Mets' latest win. Canha, who has been slumping as of late, went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and drove in three out of the Mets' four runs in this game. Canha also slugged his second home run of the season in the top of the ninth to give the Mets an insurance run. 

Canha's second homer of the year was just his third extra-base hit all season. The outfielder hopes that a recent adjustment he made will help him unlock his power stroke. 

“Today I made a little adjustment for that at-bat and it worked," Canha said of his long ball. "I was trying to keep my hands a little closer to my body. I have a little bit of a tendency and bad habit of pushing my hands away from my body."

Canha had found himself on the bench in three out of the Mets' last six games. But manager Buck Showalter said he has never seen a hitter get as much out of an off-day as Canha.

"I'm busier on my off-days than I am when I'm playing," Canha said. "When I'm playing It's more geared towards getting ready for seven o'clock. Yesterday, I'm like taking care of my body; running' doing first base work with Joey (Cora), and I just didn't stop doing stuff all day until the game started."

"I'm just trying to keep my body in good shape; stay healthy this year and make the most of those off-days from a recovery standpoint."

Canha is slashing .313/.376/.398 with a .774 OPS, two homers and 12 RBIs this season. The Mets will hope for more big offensive days at the plate from Thursday's hitter of the game. 

Read More:

- Robinson Cano Nearing Deal With Padres, Mets' James McCann Dealing With Sore Wrist

- Exploring Potential Relief Pitcher Options to Help Stabilize Mets' Bullpen

- Mets Ace Jacob deGrom Begins Throwing Progression

Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

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Pat Ragazzo
PAT RAGAZZO

Pat Ragazzo is the reporter, publisher, site manager and executive editor for Sports Illustrated's Mets and Yankees On SI websites. Pat was selected as The Top Reporter & Publisher of the Year 2024 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to the industry. He has been seen on several major TV Network stations including: NBC4, CBS2, FOX5, PIX11 and NY1; and is frequently heard on ESPN New York FM 880 AM and WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM as a guest. Pat also serves as the Mets insider for the "Allow Me 2 Be Frank" podcast hosted by Frank "The Tank" Fleming of Barstool Sports. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @ragazzoreport.

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