The Mets finished their cross-country gauntlet on a high note.
After a little more than two months of the 2026 season, the Mets are finished playing west of the Rocky Mountains. Four separate trips to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Diego are now in the rearview mirror.
Advertisement
They completed that grind in the first month of June as they grabbed a series victory with a 7-3 triumph over the Padres on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.
“We’ve got to continue to win series,” Carlos Mendoza told reporters. “It started 0-2 in Seattle and then we go back home .500. You take it. Today was huge bouncing back after a tough one (Saturday) night and that’s what you want to see from the boys. They showed up today and set the tone and now enjoy the day and be ready for the homestand.”
After dropping the opening two games to the Mariners on the latest journey, the Mets claimed three of the last four games to get back to 29-36 before they return home for a three-game series with the Cardinals beginning on Tuesday at Citi Field.
The Mets carry a little bit of momentum back to Flushing as winners of seven of their last 10 games. Here is what stood out from this most recent road trip:
Advertisement
The Mets’ seven runs matched their high for the road trip, and it started in the opening inning with Carson Benge.
The club’s rookie leadoff hitter opened the game with a single and scored a run in the top of the first inning and never looked back. Benge finished 5-for-5 with a solo home run, triple, three runs and two RBI,
Benge was the Mets’ first rookie to collect five hits since Pete Alonso did it back in August 2019.
“It was cool to see it. It’s pretty impressive. Rockets pretty much everywhere” Mendoza said. “Using the middle of the field, staying short, stay on top of the baseball and the left-on-left homer, it was just pretty incredible. It’s just good to see him continue to fight, continue to compete and just be himself.”
Advertisement
Since the beginning of May, Benge has raised his batting average from .189 to .265 and OPS from .525 to .733. He had three home runs, scored six runs and drove in five runs on the road trip.
“Today is nice. It’s nice to get two hits, let alone five,” Benge said. “Being able to do that is pretty special. Got the ball and everything. Being able to wash this off and go on to the next game as well is a big thing.”
With Kodai Senga still enduring some shaky performances with Triple-A Syracuse and Jonah Tong back in the minor leagues, the Mets are going to rely on Sean Manaea to provide lengthy outings every time he takes the ball.
Advertisement
Manaea’s role is now bigger than it had been earlier in the season when a one-inning was not unusual. On Sunday behind Huascar Brazoban, Manaea allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk in four innings to secure his first victory of the season.
The lone Padres damage off Manaea came when Freddy Fermin tagged a first-pitch fastball over the heart of a plate for a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 4-2.
“He competed. I think he had to pitch today, which was good to see with a heavy righty lineup. For him to use the cutter, to use the changeup, got swing and misses with the fastball. Yeah, Fermin got him with the fastball there but not an easy lineup to navigate, and I thought he did a really good job.”
The lefty veteran has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in three innings or more in his last five outings. He was aided by a nifty diving catch by MJ Melendez to prevent a run from possibly scoring in the second inning, but has lowered his ERA from 6.26 to 5.02 over that stretch.
Advertisement
“It was OK. The four-pitch walk’s not good,” Manaea said. “The first-pitch fastball to Fermin, I wish I got that back.”
Since returning from a torn meniscus back on May 26, Jared Young has played his way into more playing time.
On the road trip, Young was featured in the lineup in all six games, going 6-for-22 (.273) with two home runs, four RBI and two runs. The lefty-hitting Young spent five of those six games at first base after being used predominantly as a designated hitter since returning.
Those at-bats came at the expense of Mark Vientos, who is slashing .214/.248/.370 in 55 games this season. Vientos’ struggles are heightened against right-handed pitching where he has a .562 OPS, compared to a .723 OPS against lefties.
Advertisement
That has given Young a clear lane to playing time since his return. He is slashing .291/.375/.509 in 22 games this season.
One of the most encouraging signs of the road trip might be the resurgence of Bo Bichette.
The Mets infielder began by going 0-for-7 in the first two games against the Mariners before breaking out for his first four-hit game of the season in the finale. In the final four games, Bichette was 9-for-16 with two runs and four RBI. He doubled and scored a run on Sunday.
Bichette looked no worse for the wear in the finale after he made a big diving stop in the fifth inning on Saturday, appearing to jam his left shoulder but remaining in the game.
Advertisement
The 28-year-old has raised his batting average 15 points to .234 since the start of June while his .615 OPS is his highest mark since April 11.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Takeaways as Mets mount offensive to claim .500 road trip in win over Padres
