On a blustery June afternoon that reminded him of “Old Candlestick” in San Francisco, Mets manager Buck Showalter joked that he was glad to have a pitcher of some size on the mound Saturday to combat the wind.

Taijuan Walker believes he used the elements to his advantage in tossing 6 ²/₃ masterful innings of one-run ball in the first-place Mets’ 3-2 victory at Citi Field, their fifth win in six games.

“I didn’t move at all, but my hat was starting to fall off, though,” the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Walker said after the game. “I think it was in my face a little bit, so I feel like my stuff worked a little better with the wind. It definitely helped me on a couple of balls they hit hard. So I’ll take it.”

Francisco Lindor actually ripped one through the gusts to homer for the second straight game since his mother’s surprise visit on Friday, as the Mets improved to 44-23, a season-high 21 games over .500. They had reached the 20-game mark in their 56th game with a 10-4 win on Friday night, marking the third-fastest to 20-over in team history behind the 1986 World Series winners (42 games) and the 1988 team (54).

“It’s just [matters] at the end after 162 [games],” Showalter said. “We’ve got one thing in our locker room and that’s the four teams we’re playing in our division, we’ve gotta figure out a way to be better than those four teams, as simple as that. That’s gonna be a big challenge.”

Walker (5-2, 2.88) retired 18 consecutive batters after leadoff man Jon Berti reached on an infield single in the first. Berti also stole second and third in the inning, but Walker struck out Jazz Chisholm, Jorge Soler and Garrett Cooper — all looking — in succession.

The 29-year-old righty didn’t give up a run until the seventh inning, and he finished with nine strikeouts and one walk, one start after recording a season-high 10 punch-outs over six innings in a 4-1 road win last Sunday against the Angels.

“I’ve seen a lot of good outings from Taijuan. That’s as good of stuff and outing as he’s had,” Showalter said. “He had everything at his disposal, everything they had to honor. Curveball, slider, split. His fastball was firm with some life, and he had command of it. When you put those things together it’s tough.”

Jeff McNeil’s RBI single to right against Marlins starter Braxton Garrett in the second inning provided Walker with a 1-0 lead. One inning later, Lindor followed Starling Marte’s single with a two-run shot to left-center, his 11th of the season. The blast also boosted his RBI total for the season to 51, a number he didn’t reach until Sept. 12 last year, in his first season of a $341 million contract.

“Let’s see if we can get Ms. Lindor to move in permanently,” Showalter quipped.

“I want my mom to stay, too,” Lindor said. “She brings the best out of me, for sure. I’m also getting good pitches to hit.”

Walker didn’t offer many to the Marlins, but his string of 18 straight retired batters ended with a walk to Chisholm leading off the seventh. Chisholm then stole second and scored on a two-out double by Avisail Garcia, sending Walker (97 pitches) off to a standing ovation despite his protestations.

Drew Smith came on and fanned Lewin Diaz for the third out of the inning before striking out two more in a scoreless eighth. A Tomas Nido throwing error contributed to one run scoring against Edwin Diaz in the ninth, but the Mets’ closer struck out three in the inning for his 14th save.

“I really wanted to finish the [seventh], but we have so many lockdown guys in the bullpen,” said Walker, who faded in the second half after making the All-Star team last season. “I feel like when I’m healthy and I’m going good, I’m a pretty good quality starter.

“Earlier in the year, I wasn’t getting the strikeouts I wanted … but I expect to see a lot more strikeouts as the year goes on. I just feel really good right now.”