The New York Mets spent the first half of their final homestand being reminded of what they were missing without Pete Alonso.
Carson Benge is closing the home schedule by providing the Mets a hint of what they’ll have for the foreseeable future.
Benge and the Mets will look to end their home slate on a winning note on Sunday afternoon when they face the Philadelphia Phillies in the finale of a four-game series.
Mets right-hander Jonah Tong (2-1, 3.43 ERA) will oppose Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (17-6, 2.93).
Benge helped the Mets hurt the Phillies’ chances of being in the top wild-card spot in the National League on Saturday, when the rookie outfielder homered among his three hits in a 10-3 victory.
The win was the second straight for the Mets (71-84) following a five-game losing streak that included a three-game sweep by Alonso and the Baltimore Orioles.
Alonso set the Mets’ all-time record with 264 homers before signing with the Orioles as a free agent in December. He received standing ovations before every at-bat in Monday’s 2-1 Baltimore win before he hit his 300th career homer in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s 7-5 victory in 11 innings. The slugger went deep again in Wednesday’s 7-1 rout.
But Benge nudged ahead of Alonso in one category in the Mets’ record book Saturday, when his three hits gave him 156 this season, breaking the rookie high of 155 set by Alonso in 2019.
Benge’s record-breaking performance is doubly impressive considering he opened the season with just 17 hits in his first 90 at-bats through April 30. He is batting .292 since May 1.
“I came in knowing I belonged,” Benge said. “It was kind of rough there in the beginning, but (he was) sticking to my path and grinding out every day and now finally showing others that I finally belong here, too.”
Benge’s big day may have made the playoff path more difficult for the Phillies (85-70), who have lost 10 of their last 16 games to fall into the NL’s third wild-card spot.
The Phillies are one game behind the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, who earned wins later Saturday over the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins, respectively. The final wild card will open the playoffs at the No. 3 seed, likely the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, who are four games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the second seed and final bye in the first round.
The Phillies have a four-game wild-card edge over the Arizona Diamondbacks, who beat the New York Yankees on Saturday night.
“I just don’t think these guys are going to sit back and panic,” Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly said. “We’re in a better spot than a lot of teams, so I think we’re positive on it. Honestly, we know what we’re capable of.”
Tong didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent start last Monday, when he allowed an unearned run over six innings in the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Orioles. He has yet to face the Phillies in his career.
Sanchez took the defeat Tuesday after giving up five runs over 6 1/3 innings in Philadelphia’s 6-3 loss to the Washington Nationals. He is 4-4 with a 3.97 ERA in 13 career games (10 starts) against the Mets.
–Field Level Media
