The New York Mets opened up the 2026 MLB season with an 11-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 26 at Citi Field. Moreover, one of the stars of the show was rookie outfielder Carson Benge.
Benge went 1-for-3 at the plate, but his only hit was his first major league home run. As a result, the young outfielder is already paying dividends for the Mets regarding their decision to name him to the Opening Day roster.
After the win over the Pirates, Benge spoke to reporters after the win over the Pirates to share his thoughts on debuting in the majors with a home run.
“It means the world,” Benge said (h/t SNY). “Having all the people that have sacrificed so much for me come up and watch that happen is definitely big.”
Furthermore, Benge shared what he felt as he ran the bases for this surreal moment in his major league career.
“I kind of blacked out running around the bases,” Benge added (h/t SNY). “I don’t really remember too much [and] I know I got it good off the bat, but running hard out of the box, definitely.”
Carlos Mendoza Talks Carson Benge Performance
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke with reporters and shared his thoughts on the performance of Benge, who had two strikeouts before his home run.
“He’s 0-for-2 with a couple of strikeouts, and he still feels pretty good about his chances,” Mendoza told reporters postgame (h/t SNY). “He controls the strike zone. He walks. There are a couple of walks there, and then he gets a pitcher he can do damage against and goes to the pull side like that.
“I’m not surprised by it because of the personality there. Opening Day, first big league game for him, it’s a packed house, and he just goes out there and plays his game.”
After his home run against the Pirates, Benge will now look to parlay this into a potential rookie of the year campaign and be a key pillar for the Mets in their hopes to get back to the postseason.
Carlos Mendoza Happy With Mets’ Performance on Opening Day
While Benge was a major story, Mendoza noted that he was happy from what he saw top to bottom from the Mets lineup as his team got off on the right foot to start the season.
“That first inning was pretty impressive,” Mendoza added (h/t SNY). “I’m not going to lie. Right out of the gate, with Lindor walking and then just going first to third, putting pressure, because that’s one of the things that we talk about. If you want to beat guys like this, you’re going to have to play perfect baseball pretty much. Not only putting together some really good at-bats, but running the bases, putting the ball in play. The whole inning, the way everything unfolds, was pretty impressive, like I said.
“Then, Bo, with two strikes, he gets behind in the count. We talk about the importance of getting guys in once we get in scoring position and he gets the sac fly. Then the other at-bat there for the Luis Robert one, for him to get to 3-2 and lay off that sweeper, hell of a job there that sets the table for Brett Baty. That gets the big one. Yeah, overall, one through nine, pretty solid day, and it says a lot about our offense here.”
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