The rookie outfielders are doing their best to make it worth tuning in during a season that has been tough to watch.
A.J. Ewing went 4-for-4 with a 402-foot homer, three RBIs, four runs scored, a stolen base and a walk. He also made a leaping catch at the wall that deprived the Royals of their 17th run. Carson Benge was 2-for-3 with a “Little League home run,” an RBI, two runs scored and two walks.
Somehow, it wasn’t enough as the Royals beat the Mets 16-12 in front of 32,734 who watched 12 pitchers combine to give up 32 hits. The Mets (38-54) fell to 200-2 in franchise history in games where they have scored 12 runs or more. New York led 9-4 after four innings.
Ewing, 21, raised his slash line to .276/.359/.431, the homer was his sixth and he’s hit four in his last 13 games.
Carson Benge & A.J. Ewing by Berto Carlo
“I think it’s just being comfortable in the box,” he told reporters. “That’s not really something I’m pushing for. It’s more just line drive stuff, but the fact that I’m getting the ball in the air to the pull side, it’s cool.”
Ewing singled in the first and scored on a Benge infield hit that was one for the blooper reel.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Benge bounced the ball to the third-base side of the mound. Royals pitcher Seth Lugo threw the ball past first baseman Jac Caglianone (E-1), which allowed Ewing to score from second. Caglianone retrieved the ball in foul ground and then fired it to the backstop between third and home (E-3), which made Bo Bichette decide to try to score. Third baseman Nick Loftin tried to throw out Bichette at home from foul ground, but his throw was wild (E-5) and that allowed Benge to score as well.
It was the first time an opponent had made three errors on one play against the Mets.
Benge, 23, added an RBI single in the eighth and has a hit in 11 of his last 12 games. He’s 15-f0r-52 during that stretch with two homers and two doubles. He’s hitting .262/.322/.408 with 11 home runs for the season.
The other outfielder, Juan Soto, hit a three-run homer for the second night in a row. He’s worth watching, too.
