New York Mets LHP David Peterson | Spring Training 2026 | Clover Park, Port Saint Lucie, FL | Photo by Gabrielle Raucci, On NJ Sports
Photo by Gabrielle Raucci

“May Mets” Take Series Opener in Colorado – Coors Can’t Stop Them Either

The flight to Colorado from Los Angeles carried momentum. The Mets opened their three-game series at Coors Field with a 4–2 win Monday evening, and in a ballpark notorious for inflating offense, it was actually the pitching that owned the first five innings.

 

Peterson’s Strong Bulk Relief 

Carlos Mendoza deployed Huascar Brazobán as the opener, who handled the first inning cleanly before handing things to Austin Warren for two more scoreless frames with three strikeouts.

 

That set up David Peterson to enter in the fourth – a reliever role he has flourished in this season – and he was excellent, striking out six across four innings. Peterson’s final line: 4.0 IP | 3 H | 2 ER | 6 K.

 

Carson Benge, who had laid out in plenty of grass over the last 36 hours, made another diving catch in center in the third inning.

 

Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Sugano held New York hitless through five innings and had faced the minimum (with a pitchergami).
 
What changed the game was a top-of-the-sixth offensive pile on that’s becoming a hallmark of this new-look lineup when it finally finds its rhythm.

Benge and Vientos Stay Hot

Benge led off the inning and didn’t waste the opportunity, crushing a solo homer 436 feet to right-center.

 

Francisco Alvarez followed with a 404-foot drive off the left-center fence for a double, and Luis Torrens snapped a skid with an opposite-field double, making it a 2-0 lead.

 

 

Mark Vientos had watched two monster fly balls die at the warning track earlier in the game – the mile-high wind at what is supposedly baseball’s most generous hitter’s park playing very much like a pitcher’s park – but when it mattered, he lined a two-run single back up the middle to cap a four-run inning.

 

 

“Swggy V” now has six RBI in his last two games.

Leadoff Soto Contributes in Basepaths

In the lineup’s new configuration, Juan Soto was placed atop the order for the first time in his career as a Met.
Mendoza explained the thinking clearly: with Francisco Lindor on the injury list, having Soto at leadoff “creates traffic and makes it harder for opposing managers to work around him,” particularly with Bo [Bichette] – a right-handed bat – hitting directly behind.

 

Soto went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Monday, but he also walked and scored in the pivotal sixth inning, so the on-base function is there even when the hits aren’t – something he’s known for while he’s settling into a groove.

Solid Late-Inning Relief from Kimbrel, Williams

Craig Kimbrel stranded a runner at third in the eighth, but Devin Williams closed out the ninth, needing just six pitches for a beautifully clean save.

 

Mets Win Three of Last Four, Two Makes a Streak

Sitting at 13–22 after Monday’s win, the Mets are not yet a team that can afford to contextualize individual series results as proof of anything larger.
 
But three wins in four games – including a first road series victory in nearly a month – with this level of diversified contributions is, at minimum, evidence that the intent behind the lineup construction is starting to manifest.

 

Situational hitting that was invisible for stretches earlier this season is showing up. Pitching that was expected to carry this team is delivering.
And in Benge, they may have found a (possible Gold Glove) center-fielder whose defense alone justifies a spot in the daily lineup.
 
One good stretch doesn’t erase the April this team has seen, and there are still 127 games of evidence to be written. But this road trip – this version of the Mets – is at least recognizable as the one they’re supposed to be.

About the Author

Gabrielle Raucci
Lead Writer, New York Mets

Gabrielle Raucci is the New York Mets Lead Writer at ONNJ Sports, serving as your primary source for all coverage from Flushing, Queens.

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