Carson Benge just continues to progress at the big-league level.
The youngster has settled in nicely after a bit of a slow start to his career, and Sunday was easily one of his most impressive showings to this point.
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Benge led the way for the Mets’ offense, becoming the third-youngster player in franchise history to enjoy a 5-for-5 day in a series-finale win over the Padres.
He’s also the first Mets rookie to reach that mark since Pete Alonso in 2019.
“Pretty impressive, it was really cool to see,” Carlos Mendoza said. “Rockets pretty much everywhere, using the middle of the field, staying short and on top of the ball — he set the tone for us and it was a good team win.”
The 23-year-old certainly set the tone, lining the fourth pitch of the game right back up the middle before coming in with the opening run just two batters later.
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Benge also singled leading off the top of the third, then again to open the fifth, with the second sparking another rally which chased Vásquez from the ballgame.
The damage wasn’t done there, as Benge lifted a homer in a left-on-left matchup in the sixth then ripped an RBI triple down the right-field line with two outs in the top of the eighth.
Benge scored three runs, drove in two, and finished just a double shy of the cycle.
“Today was definitely nice,” the slugger said. “It’s always nice to get two hits let-alone five, so being able to do that today was definitely pretty special.”
With the Mets’ offense extremely shorthanded Benge has slid seamlessly into the leadoff spot, hitting an impressive .316 with five homers and 20 RBI since the beginning of May.
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“I’m not surprised,” Mendoza said. “We’ve seen the type of player and the talent and just the things he can do on a baseball field — he’s settling in, is comfortable, and is just going out and playing his game.
“We’re going to see a lot of games like that moving forward where he’s just totally locked in and he’s doing a lot of things to help us win baseball games — he’s just a special player.”
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