Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Canha has emerged as the Mets’ best hitter in August and he was the driving force behind the 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night at Citi Field. The veteran has been a run-producing machine and he’s shown time and time again the ability to come up clutch in key moments.

That was as true on Friday as it has been all month with Canha coming up in huge spots time and time again, and he’s truly stepped out of the shadows to provide a hot bat for a team that has badly needed it in August. The 33-year-old has been red hot at the plate this month and the confidence generated from such a streak was evident against the Rockies.

Canha has also, in many ways, epitomized the fighting spirit that flows through the clubhouse at Citi Field. The outfielder has produced tough bat after tough bat in recent weeks and he spoke about the gritty mentality that saw the Mets refuse to go away against the Rockies with their sixth walk-off win of the season.

“I think there’s just that general feeling in the dugout, you know, and it’s crunch time, nothing needs to be said and it’s kind of just looking around and going ok, it’s time to go to work here and finish this game,” Canha said. “Whether it goes in our favor or not, we’re going to play til the last out is made and we’re going to keep grinding until the end. It’s kind of our thing, you could say.”

Canha went 2-for-3 against the Rockies with two doubles to drive in three runs. He led things off in the fifth with a hit by pitch, and that led to Starling Marte hitting a triple to score Canha and James McCann to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. Canha’s damage really began in the seventh though with his first double of the night to score Darin Ruf, but his best work came in the bottom of the eighth when his second double scored two to make it a tied game heading in the ninth.

The confidence to be able to come up with big hits in the clutch isn’t something that comes easy and it can often even evade the best ballplayers for long stretches. However, Canha has been feeling it for the entire month of August and he stepped up to the plate in a massive spot in the eighth knowing he would be able to swing the bat and swing the momentum back in the Mets’ favor.

“I mean, I think I’m swinging the bat really well and I’m just playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Canha said. “It’s easier at times throughout the course of the season. Like, right now, when I got up there for my last at-bat I kind of just felt like I was going to do something big. I was trying to hit a home run to put us up but we’ll take the double. I felt it and you just kind of try to stay present, stay in the moment, don’t get too excited and that’s kind of what it is all about.”

What has been most impressive about Canha’s recent explosive play with the bat has been his newfound power. That was evident on Friday with one of his doubles being hit with a 104.5 mph exit velocity, while he also hit the ball 387 ft. And Canha put his newfound power at the plate down to some mechanical tweaks he made during the recent road trip in Atlanta.

“I made an adjustment in Atlanta and just try to stay focused and just not veer too much from that,” Canha said. “Just keep remembering what that adjustment was and just try to stay put, stay in that lane. It’s really hard to do but I just keep working on the same stuff over and over again and be methodical about it. It’s thankfully carrying over.

“It just had to do with my setup and how I’m thinking about moving when I get in the box. It is just trying to limit my movement so my head stays a little more still so I’m a little more balanced. I’m trying to get my weight evenly distributed between both feet. It is fifty-fifty is what I like to call it and that’s just helped me tremendously. Before I would kind of rock back on the one side and kind of rock forward. There was a lot of movement going on, a lot of moving parts and I’ve tried to simplify the moves and make them more efficient.”

That new approach has certainly paid off with Canha now hitting .305/.417/.593 with eight doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI with a 1.010 OPS in August. He’s getting on base, running up the pitcher’s pitch count with gritty, tough at-bats and his ability to now hit for power and drive in runs at a high rate has come at a crucial time for the Mets. In order to successful in both a pennant race and the quest for a World Series ring, you need contributions from up and down the lineup and Canha has been a consistent producer at the plate for a decent sample size now.