Mets rookie Carson Benge goes 5 for 5 with homer and RBI triple in 7-3 win over scuffling Padres

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Carson Benge went 5 for 5 with a home run and an RBI triple, leading the New York Mets to a 7-3 victory Sunday over the struggling San Diego Padres.

Marcus Semien and MJ Melendez also homered for the last-place Mets, who took two of three games from the Padres to win a series in San Diego for the first time since 2018.

Sean Manaea (1-1) allowed two runs over four innings in bulk relief as New York used six pitchers and finished 3-3 on its West Coast trip.

Freddy Fermin homered and drove in all three runs for the Padres, who have lost 11 of 13. The catcher was hitless in his previous 30 at-bats before connecting for his first homer this season Saturday night, a two-run shot in the seventh inning of a 3-2 win that stopped San Diego's six-game losing streak.

Batting leadoff, Benge scored three times and became the fourth Mets rookie with five hits and a homer in one game. Francisco Lindor was the previous New York player to get five hits in a game when he went 5 for 5 with a homer and two triples in a 9-0 victory at Arizona on July 6, 2023.

San Diego starter Randy Vásquez (5-4) gave up four runs, eight hits and two walks in four-plus innings. It was his third loss in four decisions.

New York scored twice in the fifth for a 4-0 cushion. Jared Young had an RBI single and Bo Bichette scored on A.J. Ewing’s sacrifice fly.

Melendez and Benge went deep in the sixth for a 6-2 lead.

Semien's eighth homer this year, a solo shot in the second, made it 2-0. It was Semien’s third of the road trip and second in the series.

The Mets return home Tuesday, when RHP Freddy Peralta (4-4, 3.63 ERA) pitches against Cardinals RHP Dustin May (3-6, 4.59).

Padres RHP Walker Buehler (3-3, 4.53 ERA) faces Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (4-3, 4.06) on Monday in San Diego.

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