Despite homers from Mike Baxter and Scott Hairston, the Mets lost to Philadelphia, 3-2, Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park and fell shy of a three-game sweep.

The Mets now face the Marlins in a weekend series in Miami. R.A. Dickey bids for win No. 17 when he opposes right-hander Nate Eovaldi (4-9, 4.54 ERA) in the series opener tonight.

Friday's news reports:

• Jon Niese was charged with three runs in six innings while trying to overcome the flu. Read game recaps in the Times, Post, Record, Star-Ledger, Newsday and Daily News.

• Justin Turner was hit in the head with a pitch from Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning but professed being OK.

• Jeurys Familia matched a season high with nine strikeouts as Buffalo beat Rochester, 10-3. Read the full minor league recap here.

• Binghamton has signed on as the Mets' Double-A affiliate for another four years.

• Josh Edgin has been used a lot during his rookie season, Brian Costa notes in the Journal. Writes Costa:

It isn't as if the Mets aren't aware of how often they are using Edgin. On Thursday morning, Collins pointed to a white card on his desk showing the recent workload of all his relievers. It counts not only appearances and pitches but also the number of times relievers are asked to warm up. "If you warmed up three times in one game and did not get in the game, you got in the game, so that goes down as an appearance," Collins said. He simply believes Edgin can handle the workload. And Edgin, a 30th-round draft pick in 2010, isn't about to complain. He got to know Byrdak when the Mets called him up in July. And he saw the devastation on Byrdak's face when he learned he would have to undergo surgery. But he doesn't fear the same fate.

TRIVIA: Against which pitcher did Jose Reyes record his first career hit against the Mets?

Thursday's answer: David Cone, Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez shared the Mets' win lead in 1989 with 14 apiece.