Carson

Benge

Benge has his best major league game to date for a second time in a week. The first was when he homered twice against the Mariners on Tuesday. This one was probably more fulfilling, since it came in a victory. It raised his average from .248 to .265 and his OPS from .682 to .733. Benge’s balls in play ranged from 94.9 mph to 106.4 mph, which produced a 389-foot homer. The triple, on a grounder that made it into the right field corner, was his first as a major leaguer.

Benge put the Mets on the board with a two-run homer off Logan Gilbert in the third inning. He did it again in the sixth, taking Gilbert deep for a second time with a leadoff blast, driving in all three runs for the Mets. Benge later drew a walk in the eighth. It was the first career multi-homer game for the 23-year-old outfielder. He’s homered three times in the last three games and is up to six with nine steals while slashing .254/.320/.385 across 225 plate appearances.

The rookie hit a solo homer to begin the bottom of the first, and he later drew a walk while finishing his day with two runs scored. Benge has now hit leadoff in 19 straight contests dating back to May 12, six of which were against left-handed starters. He finishes May with a much better strikeout rate than he showed in April, and his all-around results took a meaningful step forward.

Two of Benge’s three hits and all three of his RBI came in the Mets’ 10-run 12th inning. Benge had an RBI single to put the Mets up 7-6 and then a two-run double that gave New York a 14-6 lead. He’s been heating up at the plate lately and is now 21-for-55 (.381) with one home run, 14 runs scored, 11 RBI and two steals over his last 14 games. After a difficult start to his rookie season, he’s recovered quite nicely.

Benge had his finger prints all over this game for a variety of different reasons. First, he misjudged a line drive from Colt Keith amidst heavy winds at Citi Field that clanked off his glove, turned into a double, and set-up a two-run first inning for the Tigers. Then, he knocked a couple singles and stood at third base as the go-ahead run in the seventh. The Mets ran a cheeky first and third double steal, but Benge hesitated every so slightly and was thrown out at the plate. Finally, he stepped to the plate in the 10th inning and poked a walk-off single up the middle. After a disastrous first two weeks of his career, Benge has maintained a .271 batting average over his last 30 games and found some more power lately with an .817 OPS over his last 15 games. He’s also hit lead-off in two straight games, including here against a left-handed pitcher. It’s officially time to put him back on our radars.

Mendoza added that Robert will be evaluated by specialists and remains without a definitive return timetable. The 28-year-old center fielder hit the shelf with a herniated disc in his back on April 30. It’ll be rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing playing regularly alongside generational talent Juan Soto in New York’s outfield for the foreseeable future. It’s a considerable lift to Ewing’s immediate fantasy outlook since it appears he’s been brought to the majors to play everyday. He offers enough batting average and stolen base appeal to be an impactful contributor in deeper mixed leagues.

A.J. Ewing debuts in the eighth spot. The Mets are just trying to find any combination that works. Soto had led off six games in a row after hitting second previously. Bo Bichette, who was leading off when Soto was hitting second, remains in the second spot for now. Benge had a brief three-game run in the leadoff spot last month, but this is his first time hitting higher than fifth since Apr. 19.

That Benge tripped over himself and fell on Jordan Beck’s long fly to center in the seventh will probably get more views than his homer, but at least he did have an actual highlight to go along with the miscue. Benge is 10-for-33 with two homers in his last 11 games. It’s not a big-time hot streak, but it has raised his OPS from .416 to .579.

Benge will take his second consecutive turn as New York’s top-of-the-order table-setter after going 1-for-4 out of the leadoff spot during Friday’s series opener. The 23-year-old former top prospect has been ice-cold at the dish this season, hitting .158 (9-for-57) with one homer and five steals in 17 games. He’s shown some signs of life at the dish recently, but it’s going to take a couple positive weeks for his full-season numbers to climb back to respectability. There are zero long-term concerns here, but Benge is clearly going through some growing pains as he adjusts to everyday life in the majors.

Benge is still hitting just .151/.237/.226 on the season, but he has hit in five of his last six games, and with how the Mets are currently swinging the bats right now, that makes him a viable leadoff candidate. Francisco Lindor is batting third as the Mets try to shake out of a doldrum in which they’ve scored two runs or less in five of their last six games.