PHILADELPHIA _ Just when it seemed the Mets were on the way to another futile night, their bats came alive at Citizens Bank Park like they so often do.
Michael Conforto hit a two-run go-ahead homer in the ninth inning as the Mets rallied for three runs in the ninth inning in a 3-1 win over the Phillies on Friday night. The Mets (19-17) had no runners on with one out before the next three batters recorded hits off Phillies closer Hector Neris. Conforto and Devin Mesoraco hit back-to-back homers.
With the win, the Mets avoided falling to .500 for the first time this year.
The Mets' lineup has been at the core of the team's struggles during this 8-16 skid, but they came alive at the right time Friday to avoid being shutout.
Jake Arrieta stymied the Mets for 7 1/3 innings, and they trailed 1-0 entering the ninth when Wilmer Flores singled with none out and one out.
Conforto, who has been slumping, just missed a two-run homer to right when it went foul, and on the next pitch he hit a no-doubter into the right-field seats to give the Mets their first lead. Mesoraco then followed with a homer to left, his first hit as a Met.
The Phillies fans heavily booed Neris after he blew the save.
Prior to the outburst, the Mets' had scored three runs in their last 30 innings.
The team recently changed its pregame routine by cutting down on the amount of swings the hitters take before games in an attempt to help keep them fresh.
"Offensively, we've got to get it going," Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said before the game. "Sometimes, one of those things where it gets a little bit of a contagious, where guys try to do too much. ... The guys that got off to the great start are the same guys who are going to get us out of it. A lot of confidence in that."
The Mets only trailed the Phillies by a run entering the ninth due to a solid effort by Steven Matz and a strong performance by the bullpen.
Matz pitched well for the second straight outing, but only lasted five innings since the Phillies put a runner on base in each of his innings.
He used 95 pitches and allowed five hits while walking four batters.
Though he left with the Mets trailing, 1-0, Matz did a nice job to prevent the Phillies from grabbing a multi-run lead.
The lone run he allowed scored when the southpaw yielded a two-out solo homer to the red-hot Odubel Herrera in the first inning.
Matz spent the rest of his night wiggling his way out of jams, and he kept making big two-out pitches to strand runners.
He induced an inning-ending double-play grounder from Arrieta in the second, and retired Rhys Hoskins and Carlos Santana on fly outs to strand two in the third.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth, Matz fell behind 3-0 against Santana before retiring the Phillies' first baseman on a grounder.
Matz held the Phillies 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
The lefty has now allowed just two runs in his last 11 innings spanning his last two starts, and has seemed to right the ship after a rough patch.
The 26-year-old changed his between-pitch mentality after unraveling following a throwing error on April 25 against St. Louis, and the change has helped him.
Once Matz departed, the foursome of Seth Lugo, Paul Sewald, AJ Ramos and Jeurys Familia combined to hold the Phillies to just two hit.
The Mets have now beaten the Phillies in all three meetings between the team this year, and they improved to 41-17 in this park since 2012.
