The New York Mets rookie right fielder looked overwhelmed in his first two at bats, but he came back with a vengeance.
The New York Mets have an Opening Day winning percentage of .631, so it wasn’t totally surprising that they won their home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-7. But it was very surprising that they knocked out Pirates starter Paul Skenes in the first inning, and the major-league debut of right fielder Carson being was a shocker, too.
Benge struck out his first two times up, and he looked especially bad against Skenes, going down on three straight fastballs. But ne recovered nicely in the sixth inning, as he blasted his first big league home run over the right field fence on a sweeper that didn’t sweep from pitcher Justin Lawrence. The ball bounced off an overhang and landed in the Pirates bullpen, making for an easy-to-retrieve souvenir, according to a story by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
I kind of blacked out running around the bases,” Benge said, laughing. “I don’t really remember too much. I know I got it good off the bat, but [I was] running hard out of the box, definitely.”
“That was awesome,” new teammate Bo Bichette added. “He let it out rounding first, too, so that was cool.”
Benge also made an adjustment in mid-game that’s characteristic of what he’s been doing since spring training started. Mets director of hitting Jeff Albert noticed that Benge had swung under multiple fastballs, but for the rookie it was just about getting himself to “calm down.”
He also got to engage a little bit with manager Carlos Mendoza after his memorable moment, as Mendoza was among the first to greet him.
“It’s fun here,” Mendoza told the rookie as the crowd roared around them.
“You’re right,” Benge grinned, before exiting the dugout for a curtain call.
Benge joined Kazuo Matsui as the only Mets to hit home runs in their big league debuts on Opening Day, and he became the 17th player in franchise history to homer for his first career hit. Benge also walked twice in his next two at-bats, and he put the icing on the cake by stealing a base.
“I’ve seen him drive the ball. I’ve seen him basically do everything in the Minors. I’ve seen him make adjustments. I’ve seen the confidence.” Albert said. “So I know it’s in there, and this is a guy with a lot of skills. So seeing him obviously get the home run was great, but he also worked that walk. There’s a lot of different things he can do to help you win, so it’s definitely cool to see him pull it off.”
Benge also got to celebrate with family and friends on the field after the game. The Mets have an off day today, so he’ll get to absorb the experience a bit before they return to the field on Saturday again against the Pirates.