Three takeaways from the Mets' sweep over the Phillies

All is sunshine and rainbows in Queens. 

After Justin Verlander was rocked by Tampa Bay on May 16 and the Mets fell to a season-worst three games under .500, it seemed as though the team was in deep trouble. A little over two weeks later and the Mets are three games over .500 and in second place in the NL East. 

If the season ended today the Mets would be the fifth seed in the NL playoffs.

The team's hot run continued this week with a sweep of their bitter rivals - the Philadelphia Phillies.

Here are three takeaways from the sweep.

1. The starting pitchers have turned the corner

The starting pitchers allowed just two earned runs across 20 innings. Kodai Senga was fantastic on Tuesday, striking out nine in seven shutout innings. His dominant performance lowered his ERA at Citi Field this season to 1.20. 

Carlos Carrasco gave up just one run in six innings on Wednesday. Carrasco has given up just two runs across his last 12.2 innings. It will be huge for the Mets if they can continue to get strong outings from their number four starter.

Max Scherzer was dominant on Thursday afternoon, allowing one earned run and striking nine across seven innings. Since returning from a neck sprain on May 14, Scherzer has made four starts and allowed just three earned runs over 25 innings while striking out 27 batters.

Prior to his May 14 start, Scherzer's ERA was 5.56. It has fallen all the way down to 3.21. The Mets co-ace is finally pitching up to his pedigree, and might even end up as a 2023 All-Star. 

Mets starters threw six or more innings just seven times in the teams first 43 games. They have done it nine times in the last 14 games.

2. Mark Canha needs everyday at-bats

Canha went three-for-five in the series with two home runs and five RBI. He has hit four home runs in his last three games against Philadelphia, all of which have either tied the game or given the Mets the lead.

Canha has been splitting time in left field with Tommy Pham. Pham is slashing just .222/.321/.389 with a 0.1 WAR this season while Canha is slashing .245/.330/.406 with a 0.4 WAR. Canha also has more homers and RBI than Pham and a better OPS (.736 to .710).

The Mets have received very poor production from their left fielders this season, but if Canha can pick up his game like he did in the series against the Phillies, the Mets lineup will be extremely dangerous.

3. Daniel Vogelbach needs to go

The designated hitter went 0-for-4 in the series. Vogelbach's batting average has dropped all the way to .215. He has a solid .359 on-base percentage but a dredful .308 slugging percentage. It is never good when a player has a higher on-base percentage than slugging percentage.

A DH is supposed to provide power to a team's lineup, but Vogelbach has just two home runs. The Mets pulled off a sweep despite the fact that they scored just 10 runs in the series. They cannot rely on their pitchers to be as dominant as they were and will need more offense.

It is clear Vogelbach can no longer provide that for the Mets. Rookie Mark Vientos would be a much better option.