Carson Benge’s MLB career hasn’t quite started as planned.
The rookie took the league by storm to earn his spot with the Mets out of big-league camp, but hasn’t quite been able to carry that success over to the regular season thus far.
Benge has just six hits and he’s struck out 14 times over his first 46 at-bats.
He has been showing more positives at the plate of late, though, picking up hits in three straight before putting together another 0-for on Sunday.
The youngster is still just 3-for-29 so far in April, but he thinks this strong homestand is a sign of good things to come.
“I feel like, particularly over the homestand, I had really good at-bats,” he told Dan Martin of the New York Post. “I feel it’s just a matter of time for everything to click, and I’m gonna be — and we’re all gonna be — rolling.”
Even with these struggles, Carlos Mendoza praised the fact that Benge keeps finding ways to contribute each game.
Sunday, it was with his glove out in center.
With two in scoring position and two outs in the fourth, the 23-year-old came flying in to rob Denzel Clarke of a two RBI knock with a spectacular diving play in shallow center.
The Mets, of course, were still swept as they suffered their fifth straight loss but Benge’s heroics helped Freddy Peralta off the hook and keep things close.
“It felt great to have my pitcher’s back,” he said.
“The ball is hit, it’s soft contact, it was like that’s probably going to fall in,” Mendoza added. “But the jump that he got, the way he went after the ball and the dive, it was pretty incredible.”
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