PHILADELPHIA _ The Phillies may play in Citizens Bank Park, but the Mets made it clear that they are the landlords. That arrangement was emphasized on Wednesday night with a 5-4 victory to complete a three-game sweep.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler bounced back from a rough season debut to earn his first win since 2014. Center fielder Michael Conforto smacked a home run in just his second start of the season. And fill-in closer Addison Reed picked up his third save in the last four games, doing so by surviving a leadoff single by Maikel Franco in the ninth.
The Mets (6-3) won their fourth straight, despite reliever Hansel Robles surrendering a sixth-inning grand slam to Franco, all after taking over for Wheeler with a 5-0 lead.
The Mets took off for Miami, where they will begin a four-game set against the Marlins on Thursday.
Wheeler, 26, cruised through his first five innings before encountering trouble in the sixth. After tossing five scoreless frames, Wheeler allowed two hits and walked Odubel Herrera to load the bases with two outs. Manager Terry Collins summoned Robles, whose first-pitch fastball to Franco ended up in the stands.
Robles has allowed at least one run in three of his first six outings of the season. But he successfully navigated the rest of the inning, leaving the lead intact and Wheeler in line for his first victory since Tommy John surgery wiped his last two seasons. Wheeler (1-1) was charged with three runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings while showing vastly improved command.
Wheeler's first start came last Friday in cold and windy conditions at Citi Field. He surrendered six runs and lasted just four innings.
"For not pitching in two years, he drew the worst conditions you could possibly pitch in," Collins said of his first start. "The ball was slippery. He threw the ball fine. Didn't have great life. But I think tonight it will be better."
Indeed, Wheeler showed plenty of improvement. He maintained his fastball velocity throughout, reaching 95 mph consistently even into his later innings. He kept the ball on the ground, a sign of the life and movement on fastball. And unlike his first outing, Wheeler commanded his secondary offerings, working ahead of the count by throwing them for strikes.
Wheeler won for the first time since Sept. 19, 2014. He got plenty of help, with the Mets taking him to a 5-0 lead even though Jose Reyes continued his struggles, going 0-for-4 and dropping his average to .054.
"This guy's earned the right to fight through it," Collins said, explaining why Reyes remained in the lineup, although he was again hitting seventh. "A guy who's got that kind of time, the kind of player he is, a guy who won the batting title here, the guy who New York Mets fans adore and they should, he's earned the right to fight through this."
But the Mets worked around those struggles, taking a 1-0 lead in the first when Conforto singled then scored on Yoenis Cespedes' hard-hit double to stay hot one night after his three-homer game.
Conforto made it 2-0 in the third with his homer to left-center off Phillies starter Vince Velasquez, his second of the year. It gave the Mets at least one home run in eight straight games. They have crushed 12 homers in their last four contests.
Fresh off a four-hit night, Asdrubal Cabrera ripped a two-run single when he came up with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, doubling the Mets' lead to 4-0. Cespedes tacked on another run to make it 5-0 with a sacrifice fly to score Conforto, who had walked earlier to extend the rally.
Until Wednesday night, the Mets had not finished off a sweep of at least three games against the Phillies since Aug. 2015.
