What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets opened up their final series of the year with a 7-6 loss to the Nationals in Washington on Friday night (box)
Thanks to Friday night’s loss, the Mets will finish last in the NL East for the first time since 2003
RF Carson Benge hit his 20th home run of the year in the fifth inning to become the first Mets rookie in franchise history to join the 20/20 club. Benge went 2-for-4 with a run scored, one RBI, and two walks
DH Mark Vientos finished with a double and two RBIs on the night, while 3B Bo Bichette went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and a solo home run, representing the bulk of the Mets’ offense
LHP Jefry Yan, who served as the opener, allowed two earned runs on three hits with two walks and one strikeout over 1.2 innings, before RHP Jonathan Pintaro gave up three earned runs on three wild pitches to give the Nats a 4-3 lead
LHP Cionel Pérez allowed one earned run on one hit over one inning of work, RHP Justin Hagenman delivered four innings of one-run ball but gave up a back-breaking home run, and LHP Nate Lavender closed it out with a scoreless ninth inning
Roster Moves 📰
RHP Justin Hagenman recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Jack Weisenburger optioned to the FCL Mets
RHP Xzavion Curry outrighted to the FCL Mets
Play of the Game ⭐️
Wins and losses don’t matter, so let’s focus on a positive from last night’s self-enforced loss to the Nationals.
Carson Benge stepped to the plate in the fifth inning with two outs and proceeded to go long, hitting his 20th home run of the year.
That solo blast was hugely significant because it meant that Benge officially joined the 20/20 club, becoming the first-ever Mets rookie to do so.
In what has been a very disappointing year, Benge’s stellar rookie season has given all Mets fans something to be excited about and proud of.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
In the latest edition of The Just Mets Podcast, Rich MacLeod and Andrew Claudio show some accountability by reacting to and roasting their worst Mets take from before the 2026 season started.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Who’s Hot? 🥵
Over his last seven games, OF Carson Benge is hitting .423/.516/.731 with two homers, six runs scored, four walks, and six RBIs
Over his last seven games, OF Juan Soto is hitting .357/.455/.607 with five runs scored, two home runs, five walks, and seven RBIs
Down on the Farm 🌾
All Mets minor league affiliates have concluded their seasons
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (73-87) at Nationals (76-84)
Where: Nationals Park - Washington, DC
Starters: RHP Jonah Tong (2-2, 4.21 ERA) vs. LHP Connelly Early (7-5, 3.44 ERA)
When: 12:35 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The 2026 season will now forever belong to Carson Benge ✍️
Just two more games to go, and then we can officially close the book on the 2026 season.
Thank goodness.
Especially because, thanks to last night’s loss, the Mets will officially finish in last place in their division. The franchise will have to wear the stink of that for a while.
However, while I’m sure the vast majority of fans and folks connected to the Mets will want to throw this season in the dumpster and move swiftly on, I will actually look back on 2026 with fond memories because of one man:
Carson Benge.
The ascending star put the exclamation point on a truly special rookie season on Friday night by becoming the first rookie in Mets franchise history to join the 20/20 club after blasting his 20th home run of the year.
Benge also did everything he could to power the offense in just a frustrating loss, finishing the game with two walks, an RBI single, and a run scored. It has now become almost routine to see the outfielder just take over games offensively.
Now, Benge also became just the eighth player in MLB history to record a 20/20 season in their rookie year, which I’m sure will sway some voters when it comes to deciding the NL Rookie of the Year. My gut still says that Reds first baseman Sal Stewart will end up winning the award considering that he has blasted 32 home runs with 111 RBIs in his rookie year in Cincinnati.
Granted, the race is probably a little closer now given Benge’s dominance in all areas. While Stewart’s success has come at the plate, Benge has impacted games in multiple ways thanks to his smarts on the basepaths and his elite skills defensively. He entered Friday’s game with a 3.7 bWAR and a 3.7 fWAR, and some new-school voters may be more inclined to vote for Benge’s all-round excellence.
Regardless of who ends up actually winning the award, though, nothing can take away from Benge’s truly special rookie year, and nothing can change the fact that he has all the tools needed to become both a really important and beloved franchise player for the Mets.
That’s what I want to really focus on today. Not the Rookie of the Year race. Not the stats. Not any of the underlying metrics.
No, I want to take a moment to just reflect on how Benge has given an entire fanbase a lot of hope for the future.
It would be so easy to just erase this season from the memory books and move swiftly on, but that would be doing a severe injustice to Benge and the many, many, many memorable moments he’s given all of us throughout 2026.
Watching Benge this year has almost given me a sense of déjà vu, because I remember experiencing the same feelings when Pete Alonso exploded into our hearts in 2019. Just the rush of excitement that we were witnessing something really special, and what that could mean for the future.
Of course, Alonso and Benge are entirely different players, but they are very similar in how much they care and how they both know just what it means to pull on that uniform every single day.
Alonso showed his passion through hitting moon shots and his lovable, goofy personality. Benge shows his passion by playing the game with all the joy of a kid playing Little League.
He can make things happen at the plate in an instant. He puts the ball in play at a high clip. He is a menace on the basepaths. He can give you a jolt of excitement thanks to his highlight-reel ability in the field, both with the glove and with the arm. And, finally, Benge just plays with so much heart, so much spirit, and so much hustle.
He’s an absolute pleasure to watch every single day.
One of my most beloved times spent following this team was watching Alonso win our hearts in real time in 2019. I haven’t really felt that level of excitement or kind of affinity for a player since.
Until this year with Benge.
I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve gone back and just watched Benge highlights from certain games. He’s electric to watch, and is just so easy to root for.
We as sports fans have a tendency to fall in love more quickly with homegrown players, and I think it is fair to say that Benge has captured our hearts and provided all of us with a lot of joy in a season devoid of it.
Of course, who knows what will happen in the future because tomorrow isn’t promised to nobody. But, based on everything we’ve seen this year, it isn’t hard to envision Benge getting even better and growing further into being a key player for this franchise. He certainly seems to possess the hunger and the desire needed to improve year after year.
No matter what happens, however, Benge has provided some memories that will last forever in a season that has largely been forgettable.
For that, 2026 will always belong to Benge, our very own rookie phenom.
Around the League 🚩
The Red Sox beat the Cubs 4-3 in the first game of a doubleheader to secure a showdown against the Yankees in New York in the Wild Card Series, before winning the second game, 2-0
Orioles 1B Pete Alonso blasted a pair of home runs in a 10-2 win over the Yankees and leads the AL in homers (43) and RBIs (113), while the Yankees won the second game of the doubleheader, 6-3, on the day they retired CC Sabathia’s No. 52 jersey
The Phillies were shutout 2-0 by the Rays, while the Diamondbacks beat the Padres 11-4 to move to within one game of Philadelphia for the final NL Wild Card spot
1B Munetaka Murakami blasted two home runs to help the White Sox beat the Rockies 6-1 and stay in the race for the AL Central
RHP Eury Pérez tossed a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts in the Marlins’ 3-0 win over the Braves
LHP Tarik Skubal threw seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in the Dodgers’ 2-0 shutout win over the Giants
The Astros lost 6-5 to the A’s, while the Rangers lost 10-2 to the Twins, meaning that the two teams remain tied for the AL West with only the division winner able to secure a playoff spot
As Billy Joel might say, Carson Benge we love you just the way you are. And hopefully when it's all over and if I'm still kicking around, I will attend my second Cooperstown induction. The only one I've been to was of course to witness "The Franchise"!
Description of Pete as a rookie made me sad. Stearns stole him from us. Not only was it moronic as a baseball move, it was cruel as an anti-fan move. Good for Pete for leading AL in HRs and RBIs. I’ll never forgive Stearns for taking our Polar Bear away from us.