Benge and the bullpen were killer B's as the Mets win series from Tigers

Mets 3 Tigers 2 in 10 innings (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 17-25

Mets streak: Won 2

WP - Brooks Raley (1-1)

LP - Drew Anderson (1-1)

Seat on the Korner: Carson Benge

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Carson Benge dropped a ball in the first inning tonight which led to two runs in the first inning. But Benge's first career walk off hit in the 10th inning ended the game and made the drop a distant memory as the Mets came back to beat the Tigers in extras for their second straight win.

Need to Know

• This was the 8th extra inning game for the Mets on the season, which leads the major leagues.

• The Mets bullpen pitched 5 and 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, highlighted by Huascar Brazoban's two and a third in relief of Scott, and Brooks Raley's scoreless 10th with the ghost runner staring him down.

• Carson Benge, along highlighted by that walk-off hit, had three of the Mets' 7 hits as he went 3-for-5. He threw in a stolen base for good measure.

• Christian Scott went 4 and 2/3's innings and gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five. Scott is still seeking his first major league victory.

• Framber Valdez gave up two runs in 6 and 2/3's innings, giving up five hits, walking two, and striking out seven. Valdez was previously 3-0 with a 1.63 ERA in four starts against the Mets in his career.

• Juan Soto left the game in the 7th inning after fouling a ball off his foot in the 3rd inning. Soto would stay in the game for his at-bat in the 6th, but MJ Melendez pinch hit for him in the 7th. (Soto was the DH tonight.) X-Rays were negative and Soto is day-to-day.

Turning Point

Teams have been getting Bo Bichette out on off speed pitches, inducing soft contact. In the third inning, he dribbled a curveball out in front of the plate with runners on first and third with one out to help put a rally to sleep. So in the 7th, Kyle Finnegan went back to the well and threw Bichette a slider and got that soft contact. But the ball parachuted down in right field to tie the game.

Three Keys

What a Relief

Give the bullpen a ton of credit. They probably knew they were in for some heavy lifting tonight with Christian Scott on a soft pitch count. Benge got the seat tonight, but you can make a case that the B Block on the Korner could have been the entire bullpen. Brazoban's innings were huge, and Devin Williams and Brooks Raley were solid on the back end. But don't forget Luke Weaver getting out of trouble in the 8th.

Aren't We All Day-To-Day?

Yes we are. But everyone breathes a little differently when it's Juan Soto who is day-to-day. This time, it was because of this pitch:

With Soto already missing time earlier in the season, and after the news that Francisco Alvarez tore his meniscus, this is the last thing the Mets need to deal with. Thankfully, the Mets rolled a seven on the x-ray, and Soto was seen in the dugout laughing and having a snack.

Side note, is this a new thing that players are having the snacks from a tube like the ones that you would give to your cat? Did Juan Soto steal this snack from a cat?

Unfunny Valentine

The fact that I know that Junior Valentine was the home plate umpire tonight is not a good thing for Junior Valentine.

First off, everybody who follows baseball even casually knows by now that the international signal for "review that" is tapping your head, which enacts the ABS challenge.

Please show me where Brett Baty's hand touched his helmet or even came close.

Then later in the game, Dillon Dingler struck out on a pitch clock violation for not engaging with the pitcher with 8 seconds left on the clock.

Again, replay shows that Dingler picked his head up while that 8 was still on the clock. To make a ticky tack call like that shows me that he's trying to interject himself in the game.

Then there was a bizarre sequence where Valentine made the Tigers move their on-deck circle because it was blocking the pitch clock from Luke Weaver's view, but it took Valentine multiple tries to fully rectify the situation, and by the end of it, everyone on both sides hated him. It was the very definition of "Ump Show", and Valentine is lucky he didn't seriously affect the outcome of the game one way or the other.