San Diego Padres at New York Mets

NEW YORK – The Mets have been competitive ever since interim manager Andy Green replaced Carlos Mendoza on June 26, going 24-23, including a 4-2 victory over the Padres on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field. New York took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning against San Diego right-hander Michael King. After Bo Bichette reached base on a two-out walk, Green jokingly challenged Carson Benge “to do something.” What did Benge do? He did something. Benge swung at a 3-2 pitch and hit the ball to the opposite field over the left-field wall for his 15th home run of the season. After reaching the dugout, Benge told Green, “I did something.” “He just plays baseball. He doesn’t complicate life. You give him a fastball away, he will shoot it the other way,” Green said. “He has fun. It’s something special about a kid that can handle what the world sees is a lot of pressure and just play and have fun. Then the God-given talent shows up.” Right-hander Robert Stock, a former member of the Padres, was on the mound for New York. He held San Diego hitless until the fifth, when Xander Bogaerts led off with a double before coming home on a double by Fernando Tatis Jr. The Mets added two more runs in the eighth. Jared Young highlighted the scoring with an RBI single off Yuki Matsui. After Stock left the game in the top of the fifth, the Mets’ bullpen combo of Jonathan Pintaro, Nate Lavender, Austin Warren and Daniel Duarte shut out San Diego for 3 2/3 innings before Kodai Senga picked up his fourth save of the season. “The bullpen has been phenomenal. They step up on the mound and handle tough situations again and again,” Green said.