{"id":1901,"date":"2026-05-28T11:33:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1901"},"modified":"2026-05-28T11:33:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:33:49","slug":"mets-rookie-carson-benge-ditches-his-mustache-and-makes-big-strides-at-the-plate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1901","title":{"rendered":"Mets rookie Carson Benge ditches his mustache and makes big strides at the plate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
New York Mets\u2019 Carson Benge (3) hits an RBI single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Carson Benge figured maybe that scraggly mustache was holding him back \u2014 so the rookie outfielder made a big league decision.<\/p>

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\u201cI haven\u2019t really been getting a ton of hits, so I just shaved it off and it worked,\u201d Benge said Wednesday night after coming through with a couple of clutch singles<\/a> for the New York Mets.<\/p>\n

Facial hair or not, the 23-year-old Benge is quickly becoming one of the few bright spots for the last-place Mets this season.<\/p>\n

After batting just .136 with two extra-base hits and three RBIs in his first 21 career games, he\u2019s hitting over .300 with 17 RBIs and 19 runs in 32 games since April 23. Earlier this month, Benge delivered the go-ahead swing in three extra-inning wins<\/a> during a span of six days.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s always aggressive. He has a really good swing and he knows it,\u201d star teammate Juan Soto said. \u201cHe\u2019s squaring balls most of the time and that\u2019s really cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benge enjoyed a rousing major league debut<\/a> on opening day in March with a home run, two walks and a stolen base in a win against Pittsburgh at Citi Field.<\/a> But then he started to look overmatched in the batter\u2019s box.<\/p>\n

Undaunted, he adapted. Benge has streamlined his approach to the ball and shortened his swing \u2014 especially with two strikes. And his growth at the plate was particularly evident Wednesday in a 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that ended New York\u2019s five-game losing streak.<\/a><\/p>\n

With two outs in the fifth inning, the left-handed hitter came back from an 0-2 count against lefty starter Andrew Abbott and punched an up-and-in fastball into center field on the eighth pitch of the at-bat for an RBI single that snapped a 1-for-20 slump and gave the Mets a 3-1 lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust fight,\u201d Benge said. \u201cFight for every pitch. Not give them anything. Try to be a tough out. That\u2019s all you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

With two outs in the seventh, he fell behind 0-2 again and delivered another RBI single to center on a 98 mph up-and-in fastball from right-handed reliever Zach Maxwell to make it 4-2.<\/p>

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\u201cIt\u2019s really good to see,\u201d Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. \u201cBecause that\u2019s a pitch that he struggled (with) early on. And he just continues to get better. He continues to find a way. That wasn\u2019t an easy at-bat there. It\u2019s two of them. Left on left \u2014 it was also pretty impressive. I mean, you\u2019ve got to give him credit. He\u2019s not going to back down. He\u2019s going to continue to work. He\u2019s going to continue to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does Benge explain his adjustment against heaters high in the strike zone?<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to stay short, put it in play. Not trying to do too much with them, and things have been working out,\u201d he said. \u201cGetting reps, playing every day is definitely nice, and building that confidence up is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

With five-time All-Star Francisco Lindor on the injured list,<\/a> Benge is batting leadoff for the Mets (23-33) after beginning the season toward the bottom of the batting order.<\/p>\n

His overall numbers remain modest at .247 with three homers and 20 RBIs, but Benge has come a long way in a short time: He was drafted 19th overall in 2024 from Oklahoma State and won the starting right-field job in spring training<\/a> with only 24 games of Triple-A experience last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing that I like about him is you can never really tell whether he\u2019s 0 for 8 the past couple of days or he\u2019s just coming off a couple of games where he either hit a walk-off or had a game like this,\u201d Mendoza said Wednesday night. \u201cHe\u2019s going to show up the next day and he\u2019s going to be the same person and he\u2019s going to give you his best. So, it\u2019s pretty impressive for a player his age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benge\u2019s athleticism has never been questioned. He also pitched at Oklahoma State, and he\u2019s showed off his strong arm in right field on a couple of occasions while making several sensational catches, too.<\/p>\n

The high-priced Mets entered this season expecting to contend for a championship, but Benge\u2019s rapid improvement and the arrival of 21-year-old center fielder A.J. Ewing from the minors are providing hope for the future, at least.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something special,\u201d rookie pitcher Jonah Tong said. \u201cI don\u2019t even think you guys have seen the half of it yet. Being in the clubhouse with them for so long, just seeing the guys they are and what they do day in and day out, it\u2019s really exciting. And they\u2019re going to be staples in New York for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Osaka adds an ivory train and gold bomber jacket to her fashion ensemble at the French Open<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After shaving off his mustache, New York Mets rookie Carson Benge broke out of a slump Wednesday night with two clutch hits in a victory over the Cincinnati Reds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMets rookie Carson Benge ditches his mustache and makes big strides at the plate - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1901\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mets rookie Carson Benge ditches his mustache and makes big strides at the plate - 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