{"id":231482,"date":"2026-05-14T15:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/231482\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:14:07","slug":"redemption-in-queens-carson-benge-plays-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/231482\/","title":{"rendered":"Redemption in Queens: Carson Benge Plays Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone loves a redemption arc. For outfielder Carson Benge<\/a>, that entire plot played out over just nine innings.<\/p>\n

The Mets took on the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night in game two of a three-game set, looking for their second straight win with Christian Scott<\/a> on the mound.<\/p>\n

In the first inning, Kevin McGonigle<\/a> walked, and Dillon Dingler<\/a> sliced a liner toward the right-field corner. The ball drifted away from Benge, but still looked catchable. Unfortunately for Benge, the ball kept carrying, and he misplayed it, and suddenly the Tigers had two runners in scoring position with nobody out. The mistake proved costly almost immediately, as Riley Greene<\/a> ripped a two-run single to give Detroit an early lead. Benge returned to the dugout with his head down, as his team faced an early hole.<\/p>\n

If the story ended there, we wouldn\u2019t be writing this article, with its movie-script structure: introduction, sudden disaster, recovery, and eventually, a happy ending.<\/p>\n

The Mets scratched across a run in the second, and Scott settled in nicely after the rocky opening frame. Following a heroic outing from Huascar Brazob\u00e1n<\/a>, the Mets entered the late innings trailing by just one.<\/p>\n

In typical cinematic fashion, the Mets opened the seventh inning with two strikeouts, leaving them one out away from quietly heading to the eighth.<\/p>\n

Then came a glimmer of hope in the form of a Luis Torrens<\/a> walk. Benge stepped up with a chance to spark a rally, and spark it he did, roping a single into left field. After a pitching change and a Bo Bichette<\/a> base hit, the Mets had tied the game.<\/p>\n

But Oscar-winning scripts always demand a little extra tension. With Bichette breaking for second and Benge on third, the Mets attempted a double steal. Benge hesitated slightly, perhaps not taking quite enough of a secondary lead even with the third baseman playing well off the line. Once the throw went down to second, he broke for home, but Detroit executed the play perfectly and threw him out at the plate.<\/p>\n

A more experienced baserunner may give himself a better shot there. Still, the Tigers made the play they needed to make. The film rolled on anyway, and Mets fans were treated with an end-credits scene.<\/p>\n

In extra innings, Brooks Raley<\/a> kept the game tied, and Benge stepped in during the bottom of the tenth with one out, searching for redemption, and he found it. The lefty punched a ground-ball single right back up the middle, easily scoring his buddy A.J. Ewing<\/a> from second and delivering the Mets their second straight win.<\/p>\n

Roll the credits. Don\u2019t forget to throw out your popcorn on the way out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to see [him] not putting yourself down, not thinking bad and letting that last play affect you,\u201d manager Carlos Mendoza<\/a> said postgame.<\/p>\n

Benge has quietly started finding his rhythm over the last couple of weeks. While his season OPS still sits below .650, his recent stretch tells a much different story.<\/p>\n

Over his last 15 games, the 23-year-old has posted a .327 average with an .817 OPS. He\u2019s also seeing the ball better, drawing four walks during that span after collecting just seven across his previous 30 games.<\/p>\n

Even the Baseball Savant page is beginning to glow a little brighter, with his sweet-spot percentage ranking in the top 15 percent of the league.<\/p>\n

For now, the Mets will happily bask in another walk-off win, and for the future, let\u2019s hope this story keeps getting sequels.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It\u2019s] definitely way better,\u201d Benge said. \u201cWe\u2019re all just putting the puzzle pieces together slowly, game by game. I feel like it\u2019s just a matter of time until it all clicks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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