Carson Benge sparks rally in Mets’ 4-2 win over Rockies
DENVER — Coors Field is supposed to be an extreme hitter’s park, but the New York Mets aren’t exactly the most extreme hitters in baseball at the moment. On a chilly Monday afternoon ahead of a spring snowstorm, both the Mets and the Colorado Rockies had some cool bats for the first five innings of play. Just ask Mark Vientos, who nearly had two home runs, but both fell just short of crossing the left-field wall.
Vientos would contribute plenty in a four-run sixth inning, but it was Carson Benge who got ahold of a ball and sent it over the fence for a leadoff homer that sparked the difference-making rally. The Mets won the series-opener 4-2, using that big sixth inning, two openers in front of David Peterson, and four innings from the lefty who calls the Denver area home. “It’s a good sign,” said manager Carlos Mendoza.
“Not only for the team, but good for [Benge] to start playing with some confidence defensively and offensively. We [had] nothing going on until he finally was able to put a really good swing [on a pitch] and get us going there with a homer. ” Scoreless heading into the sixth, Benge took a 1-0 cutter from right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano 436 feet over the right-field fence for his third long-ball of the season.
Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens then hit back-to-back doubles to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Sugano walked Juan Soto, and with two outs, Vientos finally got his big hit. A line drive single to center field cleared the bases, giving the Mets a 4-0 lead, and Vientos two RBI.
“We were hitting the ball pretty hard all day. Mark had a few that were grabbed at the track. Soto hit one really hard, but I feel like it was just anything that would have sparked the lineup,” Benge said.
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