Carson Benge departed<\/a> in the fourth inning with left wrist discomfort, after colliding with the left field fence on a sliding catch that robbed Ronny Simon of an extra-base hit in the third. <\/p>\nX-rays were negative, according to interim manager Andy Green, but Benge will undergo further imaging Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Semien, who began the day with a paltry .634 OPS, has joined Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. to form a triumvirate of disappointments from president of baseball operations David Stearns\u2019 winter overhaul.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (10) circles the bases on a three-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about disappointment,\u201d Semien said, when asked if he viewed his season in such terms. \u201cWe just had a good day today. I am happy with the results today and my focus is on the rest of the season, not what happened before.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But with Semien\u2019s contract running through 2028, the Mets have to wonder if the 35-year-old has something to offer for the remainder of this season and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Green, when asked about Semien, said he is \u201cnot looking backwards\u201d on his season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere we are right now is a huge swing to win a baseball game,\u201d Green said. \u201cThat\u2019s where we are going to stay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Zac Thornton of the New York Mets reacts after the final out in the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Friday, August 7, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Getty Images<\/p>\n
The Mets blasted nine homers while sweeping the Guardians in three games to begin this road trip, and Semien\u2019s shot Friday extended their power surge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a rebound performance, Zac Thornton pitched five scoreless innings, allowing only four hits and two walks. It followed a shaky performance against the Marlins in which he surrendered three earned runs over 4 \u00b2\/\u2083 innings. The rookie lowered his ERA to 2.52 after seven starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New York Mets first baseman Jared Young, middle, and left fielder Carson Benge (3) congratulate second baseman Marcus Semien (10) after crossing home plate on a three-run homer. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew that I needed to get back in the zone early on with most every pitch, so I thought I did a good job of that,\u201d Thornton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Green indicated that Thornton, who was removed at 63 pitches, was impacted by a rain delay before the third inning. The delay lasted 36 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rain put him in a bad spot,\u201d Green said. \u201cWe were really close to him not going back out, just as long as the delay was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Thornton said he stayed loose by throwing in the indoor batting cage during the delay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt really good, despite the delay,\u201d Thornton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Benge delivered the Mets\u2019 first two runs, with RBI singles in the first and third innings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Semien extended the Mets\u2019 lead to 5-0 in the third with a three-run homer \u2014 his second blast in as many games. Jared Young\u2019s single followed Benge\u2019s before Semien homered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDelivering insights on all things Amazin\u2019s\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Francisco Lindor stroked an RBI single in the fourth that put the Pirates in a 6-0 hole. A.J. Ewing was hit by a pitch and stole second in the inning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Dedniel N\u00fa\u00f1ez, extended to pitch a second inning, was charged for two runs in the seventh. Lefty Jefry Yan got all three outs in the inning in a second straight solid outing to begin his major league career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Devin Williams, in a non-save situation, allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The vibes remain positive for a team that sold at the trade deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have got a ton of energy in this clubhouse,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cGuys that are hungry for it, guys that are hungry to win. I think we\u2019re playing for each other, so it\u2019s awesome to see.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PITTSBURGH \u2014 Despite his lack of productivity this season, Marcus Semien still has occasional bursts that offer the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":988496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,98413,3378,1266,405,403,1305,5226,5225,5228,5227,1886,62,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-988495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-carson-benge","tag-marcus-semien","tag-mlb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-mets","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117058724758746842","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=988495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/988496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=988495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=988495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=988495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}