PHILADELPHIA -- The New York Mets are on a long-ball binge.
Neil Walker homered twice and Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes, Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson also went deep as the New York Mets moved over .500 with an 11-1 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park.
Logan Verrett contributed six scoreless innings for the second straight start while filling in for Jacob deGrom.
The Mets have produced 17 homers and scored 33 runs in their past five games, which coincides with Conforto's rising from sixth to third in the lineup. They have produced four or more homers in consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 28-29, 2005. The Mets have reached six homers in a game three times in the past 15 years. All have come in Philly.
Tuesday's six-homer barrage ties for third most in a game in franchise history. The team record came in an eight-homer outburst against the Phillies on Aug. 24 of last season.
Conforto and Cespedes each homered on 0-2 curveballs from Vince Velasquez, who had entered the game having struck out 25 batters in 15 scoreless innings this season. Walker (twice) and Duda both homered against left-hander Brett Oberholtzer, and Granderson took left-hander James Russell deep.
It marked the first time in the switch-hitting Walker's career that he twice homered as a righty batter in a game. He is now 7-for-11 with three homers against southpaws this season. He hit .237 with no homers in 93 at-bats against left-handers in 2015. The three homers against southpaws match Walker's single-season high, which he also accomplished in 2010 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Walker now is tied for third in the National League with six homers.
The franchise record for homers in the first 13 games of a season belongs to Jeff Kent with eight in 1994. Dave Kingman ranks second with seven in 1976. Then it's Walker, John Buck (2013), Todd Hundley (1996), Gary Carter (1988) and Ray Knight (1986) with six apiece. Among that group, only Walker and Buck's totals came to begin their Mets careers.
Meanwhile, Verrett should be headed back to the bullpen now that deGrom is set to return to the rotation Sunday in Atlanta. Verrett performed exceedingly well in deGrom's absence.
Verrett tossed six scoreless innings against the Miami Marlins last Wednesday in his first chance to fill in. He then blanked the Phillies for six innings as well, giving up six hits and one walk in a 91-pitch effort. Verrett also produced his first career hit -- a leadoff double in the fifth against Velasquez.
The Phillies broke up the shutout bid in the eighth. The damage against Rafael Montero could have been worse, but center fielder Juan Lagares reached over the wall to take away a three-run homer from Maikel Franco. Montero is expected to return to Triple-A Las Vegas this weekend with deGrom set to return from a family medical emergency list.
This is the third time Lagares has made a home-run-saving catch. The others came against Jayson Werth in 2014 and Jay Bruce in 2015.
What's next: The Mets (7-6) attempt to complete the sweep as Bartolo Colon (1-1, 2.13 ERA) opposes right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (1-1, 4.30) on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.
