Jean Segura, Maikel Franco power ninth-inning rally as Phillies complete sweep of Mets

Maikel Franco puts the bam in bamboo.

OK, so it was Jean Segura who crushed the three-run home run that capped the Phillies’ 6-3 victory Thursday to complete their first four-game sweep of the moribund New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park since 2007. It was also Segura who bailed out closer Hector Neris after he uncharacteristically blew a save a half-inning earlier.

And yes, infielder Brad Miller is the one who bought the good-luck bamboo in Chinatown this week to help reverse a seven-game losing streak. The Phillies are undefeated with the plant sitting on a table in the middle of the clubhouse, and there’s no doubt it will be with them in Miami on Friday night when they open a nine-game road trip.

None of it would have been possible, though, without Franco. In perhaps the most ironic twist of a topsy-turvy season that has reached its midpoint, it might just be that the maddeningly streaky third baseman whom the Phillies always seem to be trying to replace -- with J.P. Crawford last year, or Manny Machado in the offseason, or Scott Kingery in spring training, or eventually top prospect Alec Bohm -- is the player who makes their offense click.

“Obviously the loss of [leadoff man Andrew] McCutchen was huge, but also for a while we were without Maikel Franco,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “And now we have him back, and it’s no surprise that we’re winning baseball games and scoring a lot of runs.”

The Phillies lost McCutchen four weeks ago to a season-ending left knee injury. They lost Franco to, well, they aren’t exactly sure.

After a torrid start in which he was the best No. 8 hitter in baseball, Franco fell into a deep, dark slump. He batted .155 with two home runs and an impossibly low .445 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 137 plate appearances from April 28 through June 23. The fly balls and line drives to left-center field turned into weak grounders, an issue that plagued him at the same point last season, too.

Now, like then, Kapler benched Franco, giving away his starts at third base to Kingery, utilityman Sean Rodriguez, and Miller, who was acquired from the New York Yankees on June 13. And the Phillies offense was suffering, averaging 3.7 runs in a 22-game stretch in which they went 6-16 and lost 10 games in the National League East standings.

But Kapler put Franco back in the lineup Monday, the same day that Miller brought the bamboo to work. And in four games against the Mets, Franco went 7-for-15, blasted three homers, and drove in seven runs, including the game-tying two-run shot in the ninth inning Thursday that preceded Segura’s first career walk-off homer.

“When I hit the ball, I didn’t even think the ball was going to be out,” Franco said. “I knew I put good contact on it, but I knew the ball was almost a line drive. When I got it, I got excited. And when I saw Segura hit a walk-off home run, that’s a great feeling for everybody.”

But it had to be extra special for Franco, buried so far down the bench that he didn’t start either game of a June 19 doubleheader in Washington. Neris gave him pep talks in the dugout before games. Taking the closer off the hook after he gave up three runs in the top of the ninth, then, was the least that Franco could do.

“Every day he talked to me, every day he supported me, and every day he listened to me,” Franco said. “Whenever I had a bad moment, a bad day, he wasn’t afraid to just come to me and talk to me, make me feel more relaxed and more comfortable. He’s my friend, my real friend. As soon as I hit that home run, I just thought of him and said he’s not going to lose that game.”

The Phillies win more often than they lose when Franco plays. They’re 35-29 with him in the lineup, 7-9 without him. A few days ago, Segura looked to Franco’s locker and said, “We need this guy. We’re a different type of team when we have him.”

So hitting coach John Mallee will keep working with Franco on hitting the ball in the air more frequently. It might be that Franco is just naturally streaky. But the Phillies will work to lengthen the good streaks and limit the bad ones.

“We’ll always believe in the upside,” Kapler said. “He’s not going to hit a home run every day, right? That doesn’t happen. Just a little bit more consistency is what we’re looking for from him. It doesn’t have to be a lot more. A little more makes him a high-quality everyday major-league third baseman.”

It also might make Franco the difference between the Phillies offense’s being ordinary and extra special.