Carson Benge Delivers as Mets Fry Fish

Tyrone Taylor brought in the first run of the game on a 107.8 miles per hour double off the glove of Marlins third baseman Connor Norby. Clifford had the big hit in the bottom of the first with a loud two-run double, hit 372 feet to left center. Christian Arroyo capped the first inning with an RBI single, the Mets’ fourth run of the inning.

Starter Zach Thornton pitched three innings, giving up zero earned runs, while striking out three and walking one on a pitch clock violation. Thornton is known for having good control, and that shone through as he not only pounded the zone but targeted the edge of the zone with precision. He threw a four-seam fastball, slider, sinker, and curveball in his start, and his velocity was up about two ticks from where it was in 2025. Thornton was able to work around some baserunners in the second that included an errant throw on a stolen base and end the inning without giving up any runs. He followed that inning with a scoreless third inning to end his day.

Chat. This Benge kid, good? pic.twitter.com/5qFMQIJDth

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) March 10, 2026

Carson Benge played hero on Monday, first when he drove in Hayden Senger on a triple in the second inning, extending the lead to five. Pitcher Tyler Phillips had struck out Benge on the same curveball the previous inning. The Mets did not score again until the bottom of the sixth inning when Carson Benge once again had a big hit. He came up with the bases loaded and hit a 102.2 mph single the other way through the hole to bring in two runs, extending the Mets’ lead to seven.

The Mets tacked on their final two runs of the game in the same inning. The first came via a Ben Rortvedt groundout, and the second came on a Ronny Mauricio double. Mauricio, one of the odd men out entering the 2026 season, showed better plate discipline on Monday than he had previously in spring. He saw at least seven pitches in his last three plate appearances, drawing a walk in the third inning. In each of those three plate appearances, he worked the count full.

Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless fourth inning, helping himself by picking off a runner to escape the inning unscathed. New closer Devin Williams struck out two, throwing his new cutter four times, generating a swing and miss and two foul balls. Minor leaguers Ofreidy Gómez, Matt Turner, Channing Austin and Brian Metoyer all contributed to the shutout in the later innings of the game.

Player of the Game

Carson Benge drove in three of the Mets’ nine runs and got on base three times. He hit a triple, a single, and in the fifth inning, worked a walk, his first of the spring. All of Benge’s plate appearances came against pitchers who have spent time in the majors. Benge also continued to look comfortable in right field and played seven innings there.

On Deck

David Peterson will take the mound for the Mets on Tuesday, March 10, at 1:10 PM against the St. Louis Cardinals. It will be televised on SNY.

Multiple Mets will be playing in World Baseball Classic Games on Tuesday

• Israel, 7:00 PM ET – Josh Blum, Jordan Geber, Ben Simon
• Canada, 7:00 PM ET – Jared Young
• Netherlands, 7:00 PM ET – Jamdrick Cornelia
• Italy, 9:00 PM ET – Nick Morabito
• USA, 9:00 PM ET – Clay Holmes, Nolan McLean

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