The Mets dropped a tough one on Saturday night, falling to the Padres on a Freddy Fermin homer in the late innings, despite receiving an encouraging outing from Nolan McLean.
Austin Warren allowed a go-ahead blast in a rare hiccup thus far this season, then Mark Vientos‘ struggles continued as he went down easily on three pitches to end the game with the tying-run on-base.
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Instead of sitting and sulking in the finale on Sunday, though, the Mets were able to come back and put together a complete effort from top-to-bottom to secure the series victory.
“It was a really good team win,” Carlos Mendoza said.
The offense was terrific after being held in check on Saturday, putting men on-base in all nine innings as they broke through for seven runs on 13 hits and four walks.
Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette stayed hot, but it was Carson Benge who led the way with a solo homer and RBI triple as part of his first-career 5-for-5 day.
“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.”
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Benge is the third youngest player Met to go 5-for-5, and their first rookie since Pete Alonso (2019).
And he wasn’t the only youngster to shine, as A.J. Ewing showcased his outstanding range once again with a running grab in left-center to rob the Padres of extra-bases in the bottom of the eighth.
Ewing also drove in a run, and extended his hitting streak to five games with a ninth-inning single.
“I’m loving him out there,” Benge said.
“I feel like something cool or special is going to happen every day,” Sean Manaea added.
Manaea was terrific as well serving as the bulk reliever, holding the struggling Padres offense to just two runs across four innings of work to lower his ERA to 3.28 over his last four appearances.
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Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams put the finishing touches on the victory.
After starting the road trip with a pair of tough losses in Seattle, the Mets were able to rebound nicely to finish it off 3-3, and winners in seven of their last 10.
They now head home for a big six-game stretch with the Cardinals and Braves.
“We just have to continue to win series,” Mendoza said. “Bouncing back after a tough one last night, they showed up today and set the tone early — that’s what you want to see — now enjoy the day and be ready for our homestand.”
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