May 31, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after hitting a grand slam home run against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
QUEENS, NY — Early home runs from Carson Benge and Marcus Semien, and a sixth-inning moonshot of a grand slam by Juan Soto carried the Mets to a 10-1 victory and a series sweep of the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.
Soto remains scorching at the plate, with his third-career grand slam coming in a 6-1 game, and serving as the coup de grace of a sixth-inning two-out rally that began when Marlins reliever Josh White, making his MLB debut, set down the first two men he faced in an instant.
But walks to Semien and Benge, which sandwiched a Luis Torrens hit-by-pitch, jammed the bases, and then White walked Bo Bichette to put the Mets up five. Soto then obliterated a hanging slider 433 feet to the Shea Bridge in right-center field. The star slugger watched the majestic blast leave the yard, then emphatically flipped his bat toward his own dugout.
Over his last 17 games, Soto has nine home runs and 19 RBI.
After a dreadful 1-7 stretch, the Mets (26-33) have won four games in a row. With it, they move out of last place in the National League East past the Marlins, just the second time since April 29 that they are not occupying the bottom spot in the division.
Benge, who entered Sunday’s game batting .323 with 14 RBI in his last 25 outings, took the third pitch of the afternoon from Marlins opener John King 418 feet to straightaway center to put the Mets on the board.
Semien made it a 3-0 game in the second when he jumped on an Anthony Bender first-pitch sinker and cracked it into the left-field seats for his fifth home run of the season. The veteran second baseman is having one of the best stretches of his first year with the Mets, going 7-for-20 (.350) with two home runs and four RBI during the six-game homestand.
Torrens made it 5-1 in the fourth inning with a two-out, two-RBI single to cap off the Mets’ first significant two-out rally, which began when AJ Ewing walked, Brett Baty singled, and Semien got a free pass. The catcher then sent a liner the other way into right field.
New York starter Nolan McLean rebounded from two dreadful starts, though there were still some significant warts within Sunday’s outing. The rookie right-hander walked a career-high five across five innings of work, where he allowed one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts.
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