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The New York Mets fell behind early in the second game of a doubleheader with the Washington Nationals on Sunday. Buck Showlater’s team already suffered a defeat earlier in the day, and with Max Scherzer on the mound in the second game, the offense needed to step up. Trailing 1-0 going into the top of the fifth inning, the Mets were able to stack hits together, most of which came from sources who have yet to deliver consistently in 2023.

Starling Marte led the inning off with a single to right field, dropping in front of outfielder Lane Thomas. Next up was Mark Canha, who desperately needed a big hit in a critical moment. With the count at 3-2, Marte ran as Canha laced a double down the left field line, scoring Marte all the way from first. Three batters later, Brandon Nimmo put the Mets ahead with an RBI single, bringing Tommy Pham home.

The Mets continued to make Nationals starter Jake Irvin work, who was pulled from the game after an RBI single from Francisco Lindor and a hit by pitch against Pete Alonso. Manager Dave Martinez went to Mason Thompson to stop the bleeding, but New York had something else in mind. Brett Baty drew a walk with the bases loaded, scoring Nimmo to make it a 4-1 lead.

That brought Marte back to the plate, who began the inning with a base hit. He added on to the Mets’ lead with a single to center field, scoring two more runs. With Canha up for the second time in the fifth, Marte attempted to steal second base. The throw was off the mark, allowing Baty to score. Later in the at-bat, Canha added to his strong day with an RBI single, making it 8-1 Mets. That half-inning would decide the game in the end, as they would go on to win 8-2.

New York’s offense has struggled for a large part of the first month and a half of the season, with many of their key contributors from a season ago performing below expectations. Canha and Marte are a part of that group, but their at-bats on Sunday could be a sign of better things to come. The duo combined to go 5-for-8 with four runs batted in, including two extra-base hits from Canha.

“It felt like our good ABs finally turned into something and we cashed them in. It was only a matter of time before that happened. We’ve been having a lot of good ones it feels like lately,” Canha said.

Canha is now slashing .236/.307/.390 with 13 extra-base hits in 36 games, although he is hitting .259 with a .407 slugging percentage over his last seven. Marte has yet to find his power since he was moved out of the two-hole, yet he is hitting .296 over his last seven games. The 34-year-old is still searching for that aspect of his game after hitting 16 home runs a year ago.

The Mets ranked 23rd in all of baseball with 4.13 runs per game prior to the second game of the doubleheader. A lack of punch from the lineup, especially from the top of the order, has certainly held this team back. But, this could be a game that helps them begin to turn things around. Time will tell, but the Mets at bats in this win over the Nationals should serve a positive step in the right direction.