Suddenly surging Mets defeat Rockies as they climb a notch above having the worse record

DENVER — The Mets have done it. They are no longer the worst team in baseball.

Tuesday’s game may have been postponed after a rare May snowfall froze the Denver metro area, but it did little to cool down the suddenly surging Mets, who pushed aside the Rockies, 10-5, at Coors Field Wednesday night. The Mets have now won four of their last five games, all during this Western road trip, and with the Giants (14-23) losing earlier in the day, their 14-22 record no longer holds the ignominious mantle of worst of the worst.

They’ll attempt to complete their first sweep of the season Thursday.

“It’s important to continue to win series,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ve got an opportunity to come in tomorrow and get that third one and that’s our mentality. We can’t sit here and think about the past . . . It’s good to see the guy playing loose and with confidence, just playing their games, not trying to do too much.”

It may not seem like much, but it’s certainly a start — particularly as the bottom four in the lineup contributed for the second game in a row. Marcus Semien, Carson Benge, Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens went 8-for-17 with seven runs and eight RBIs — four of those belonging to Semien. Semien collected four hits for the first time this season, including a ninth-inning two-run homer.

The Mets matched a season high with 15 hits and led 8-0 before Tobias Myers coughed up four runs in the sixth.

“It’s always great to have the bottom of the lineup producing” Juan Soto said. “It helps the top part of the lineup to have a little breathing [room], get guys on base and try to bring guys home. It’s always great to see those guys doing that.”

Soto, who was slotted into the one hole for only the third time in his career Monday, acclimated nicely — blasting Michael Lorenzen’s 1-and-1 curveball 435 feet to left center for his first career leadoff homer. The Mets tacked on three more runs in the fourth, kicked off by Brett Baty’s leadoff walk. Semien then followed that up with a double to right to put runners in scoring position for Benge.

Benge, who came into the day with RBIs in his previous two games, added two more, blooping a changeup to right to put the Mets up 3-0. The rookie is 12-for-38 (.316) with eight runs, three doubles, two homers, seven RBIs and three walks in his last 12 games.

Alvarez singled to keep the rally going, and his snazzy baserunning helped score the last run of the inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Torrens hit a grounder in front of an advancing Alvarez. Alvarez evaded the tag from Edouard Julien, forcing Julien to get the out at first. TJ Rumfield then threw to second, but Benge had already scored from third, and Alvarez avoided the double play by scampering back to the first-base bag.

They tacked on four more in the sixth, again courtesy of the bottom of the lineup: Semien collected his third hit of the game, a single, Benge doubled, and Alvarez drove Semien in with a single. Soto added a bases-loaded sacrifice fly later in the inning, Bo Bichette threw in an RBI single, and Tyrone Taylor’s run-scoring force out made it 8-0.

Freddy Peralta, meanwhile, worked his way through five innings, allowing no runs on four hits with two walks and a strikeout.

The Rockies, though, were able to do significant damage against Myers, who had been all but untouchable up until Wednesday. Rumfield hit a leadoff homer and Tyler Freeman and Troy Johnston added back-to-back doubles to make it 8-2. Myers got the next two outs, but Jake McCarthy put a charge on a two-strike, hanging splitter, driving it 401 feet into the bullpen in right, cutting the Mets lead to four.

Sean Manaea loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, and hit Freeman to drive in a run. Devin Williams came in to strike out the next two.

“Keep it simple and keep working on what I’m working on in the cage and keep my swing going,” Semien said of his approach.

“Juan started off with a home run was good for everybody just to feel like it was going to be a good day. And it definitely was . . . And today, I felt good.”

Notes & quotes: A.J. Minter, who was nearing a return from the torn lat that cost him nearly all of 2025, was pulled off his rehab assignment after experiencing left hip discomfort. “We’re not too concerned,” Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ll probably give him a few days there and he’ll continue to throw.” It’s the same hip Minter had surgery on in 2024; because of the setback, his 30-day rehab clock will restart . . . Jorge Polanco (ankle, wrist) was off Wednesday from baseball activities but ran on Tuesday. Mendoza believes he’s still not near a rehab assignment. “It’s kind of day to day,” he said. “It’s been like that for a long time.” . . . Kodai Senga (lumbar spine inflammation) played catch for the first time Wednesday. “He’s feeling a lot better, so now we’ve just got to build him back up with the throwing programs and the mound progressions,” Mendoza said.