WASHINGTON — With Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander back atop the rotation, there are fewer concerns about the Mets’ aging aces.
And with Starling Marte and Mark Canha showing signs of life, there are fewer concerns about the Mets’ aging corner outfielders.
The second-year Mets and many-year big leaguers, who have gotten off to slow starts, combined to go 6-for-12 with four RBIs this weekend, beginning with a 3-2 loss and ending with an 8-2 victory at Nationals Park on Sunday.
The pair signed with the Mets around the same time, thrived in their first seasons in Queens and dipped in April and early May this year.
When veterans — both are 34 — begin to slip, there is wonder whether they will continue to fall.
They entered play hitting a combined .222 with just four home runs between them and struggles that had seemed to permeate through the entire lineup.
Those numbers will improve after Sunday, when they helped spearhead the biggest inning of the Mets’ season.
“Felt like our good [at-bats] finally turned into something, and we cashed them in,” Canha said, speaking for the entire offense. “It was only a matter of time before that happened.”
Starling Marte singles during the Mets’ win over the Nationals on May 14. Getty ImagesBoth Marte and Canha knocked a pair of hits in the eight-run fifth inning of the second game.
Marte led off the frame with a single and scored when Canha lined a double into left field, which brought in the Mets’ first run of the game and opened the floodgates of what became a rout.
The rest of the Mets’ lineup kept hitting, which enabled the two to get another at-bat in the inning.
Marte dropped a bloop, RBI single into center field, stole second and advanced to third when the ball squirted into center field.
Canha followed with an RBI single into center for the Mets’ eighth and final run of the inning and game.
Canha was just 4-for-23 in his past six games entering play and consistently has been part of an early batting practice hours before game time.
“A little tweak here and there, and finally something felt right,” Canha said after he raised his average from .218 to .236 with a three-hit game. “So a key is just holding on and keeping up the work I’m doing.”
Mark Canha doubles during the Mets’ win over the Nationals on May 14. Getty ImagesMarte, who was batting .213 as recently as May 6 and has been dropped to sixth in the order, said Friday that he tends to get better as the weather gets hotter.
Historically, April has been his worst hitting month.
Buck Showalter has seen his $78 million right fielder expand the strike zone — and now has begun to see that strike zone shrink.
“He seemed to be cheating a lot to the fastball, which made his pitch recognition go away,” the manager said. “He only had one real chase today in the two games. That was good to see.”
With one big inning, the Mets hope two big contributors took steps toward breaking out.
