The Mets' Carson Benge, below, beats the throw to Detroit Tigers infielder Gage Workman to successfully steal second base in the fifth inning on Thursday in New York. (AP photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — A.J. Ewing hit his first big league home run to spark a comeback for the New York Mets, who completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 9-4 win on Thursday.

Ewing, who was promoted prior to the series opener Tuesday, hit a 405-foot shot off Keider Montero (2-3) leading off the third. He was 3 for 9 with three RBIs and four walks against the Tigers as the Mets recorded their first sweep since taking three straight from the Philadelphia Phillies in August.

Brett Baty hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Juan Soto laced a tie-breaking RBI single off Tyler Holton in the fifth, one pitch before Mark Vientos’ two-run shot.

Hayden Senger added a safety squeeze in the sixth and Soto and Marcus Semien went deep in the seventh and eighth.

Nolan McLean (2-2) gave up Gage Workman’s three-run homer in the first but lasted seven innings as he ended his winless streak at six starts. He allowed six hits, walked three and struck out seven.

Dillon Dingler homered in the eighth for Detroit.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was ejected after a replay review confirmed Workman was thrown out at third trying to advance on Zach McKinstry’s bloop single in the fourth — one of four times a replay review didn’t benefit the Tigers.

Baty’s blast stood upon a crew chief review while the Mets successfully challenged a safe call on McLean’s pickoff of Wenceel Pérez in the fifth as well as a caught stealing call on Carson Benge just before Soto’s tie-breaking hit.

Montero gave up four runs and struck out two in 4 2/3 innings.

Skubal now playing catch

Tigers ace Tarik Skubal has started playing catch and soft tossing, just over a week after elbow surgery.

The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner had a procedure on May 6 to remove a loose body in his pitching elbow, which was described as minimally invasive. When the Tigers placed the 29-year-old left-hander on the 15-day injured list in a move effective May 4, the team projected he would miss two to three months.

“Tarik has started his throwing program, which is significant news just that it’s increased his rehab progression to the next phase, which is really exciting,” Hinch said Friday. “We thought this procedure would lead to a step-by-step process and this next step is literally the throwing program.”

Skubal felt irritation in his last start, on April 29 against Atlanta, but remained in the game and struck out the side in his seventh and final inning. He was scratched on the day of his next scheduled start.

Skubal is 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA in seven starts, striking out 45 and walking six in 43 1/3 innings. He has a $32 million salary after winning in arbitration and is eligible for free agency after the World Series.

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