QUEENS, NY — Carson Benge’s arm always projected as a plus given his days as a pitcher, but the New York Mets’ right fielder is displaying a cannon that Major League Baseball should take serious note of.
The rookie threw out two consecutive San Diego Padres at home plate in the first inning of Monday night’s 2-1 victory. It was the third and fourth outfield assists for the 23-year-old in just 13 innings after nabbing a pair of Washington Nationals on the basepaths in Saturday and Sunday’s wins.
“I feel like I’ve always had a good arm and an accurate one at that,” Benge said. “So being able to do that and make some cool plays with the glove is pretty cool.”
Starting pitcher Nolan McLean was scuffling from the jump, allowing two straight singles to Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado with one out in the first. Ty France blooped a single in the right-center gap that was picked up by Benge and thrown 99.9 mph on one hop home to nab Cronenworth by 10 feet.
Jackson Merrill followed with a laser to right that Benge retaliated with by uncorking a 103.9 mph strike to home — the tag emphatically applied to the veteran Padre’s face by Francisco Alvarez.
“He’s a special athlete,” interim manager Andy Green said of Benge. “He said when you don’t have to strike a batter out, it’s actually really easy to throw it over the plate. So he feels good about it. It’s been ridiculous, honestly. It just doesn’t happen at this rate. You don’t get these opportunities, and you don’t execute perfectly every time the way he does.”
The 103.9 mph strike, which was clocked by MLB.com, is the fastest throw by any fielder in the majors this season, eclipsing the former high — Jac Caglianone at 102.7 mph — by a considerable margin.
“I knew I had something around there in there,” Benge said of his rope. “But to be able to get someone out with that throw too is pretty cool.”
Benge now has nine assists on the season, which ranks second in the National League behind Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“He’s been outstanding, and we expected him to be outstanding,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “This is a very gifted player on both sides of the ball, and we expected really, really good defense, and we have gotten that.”
Fellow rookie and left fielder AJ Ewing got in on the fun in the second inning when he threw out Xander Bogaerts at home to end another imminent San Diego threat, preserving the Mets’ one-run lead.
According to SNY, it was the first time since at least 1920 that a team recorded three outfield assists at home plate in the first two innings of a game.
“That fires me up,” McLean said of the play of his outfielders. “That’s saving not only team runs, but me runs as well… It’s just awesome.”
Benge and Ewing’s arms stymied what should have been the Padres breaking things open early. After recording the first out of the game, McLean allowed seven straight men to reach base: Four successive singles in the first, followed by two walks and a hit-by-pitch to lead off the second.
McLean managed to last six innings on 103 pitches despite those early troubles. He yielded that lone run despite allowing six hits and four walks with just three strikeouts.
“Without those kids on the corners, we don’t win that game,” Green said. “Nolan doesn’t get to settle in and pitch six strong innings for us. That game could have spun wildly different without them playing the outfield so well.”
The Mets scored both of their runs in the first inning. Bo Bichette picked up his 500th career RBI by driving in Ewing, who led off the game with a single and then advanced to second on Francisco Lindor’s walk. Luis Robert Jr. drove home Lindor with a sacrifice fly. It was the only two hits Padres starter Walker Buehler allowed in six innings of work.
For more on Carson Benge and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
