SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — Carson Benge went 5 for 5 with a home run, a triple, two RBIs and four runs scored, and the New York Mets defeated the San Diego Padres 7-3 on Sunday evening at PETCO Park.

Benge, the Mets’ right fielder, reached base in every plate appearance and provided the offensive backbone for a lineup that collected 13 hits. He singled in the first, third and fifth innings, homered in the sixth and tripled in the eighth. His performance helped the Mets salvage a split of the three-game series after losing the opener 3-2 on Saturday.

The game’s pivotal sequence occurred in the fifth and sixth innings. The Mets had built a 4-0 lead on run-scoring singles, a sacrifice fly and Marcus Semien’s solo home run in the second inning. But the Padres answered in the bottom of the fifth when Freddy Fermin launched a two-run homer to left-center field, scoring Samad Taylor and cutting the Mets’ lead to 4-2. The Padres had a chance for more after Fernando Tatis Jr. doubled, but he was caught stealing third to end the inning.

The Mets responded immediately in the top of the sixth. MJ Melendez led off with a solo home run to right-center field, his fourth of the season. Two batters later, Benge hit his seventh homer of the year, also to right-center, giving the Mets a 6-2 advantage. The back-to-back blasts restored the Mets’ four-run cushion and effectively put the game out of reach.

New York added an insurance run in the eighth. Brett Baty walked, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Benge’s triple, a ground ball down the right-field line that rolled to the wall. Benge’s triple was his first of the season.

The Padres managed one run in the ninth. With two outs, Samad Taylor walked and Fermin doubled down the left-field line, scoring Taylor to make it 7-3. But Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out swinging to end the game.

Sean Manaea earned the win, improving to 1-1 on the season. He allowed two runs on four hits over four innings, striking out three and walking three. The Mets’ bullpen held the Padres to one run over the final five innings. Brooks Raley pitched a perfect sixth with two strikeouts. Huascar Brazobán tossed a scoreless seventh. A.J. Minter worked a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit. Luke Weaver closed the ninth, giving up one run on one hit with one strikeout.

Mets pitchers combined for 19 strikes, 50 balls and 19 balls in play. Padres pitchers combined for 13 strikes, 54 balls and 13 balls in play.

Randy Vásquez took the loss, dropping to 5-4. He allowed six runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out two. Ron Marinaccio pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief, giving up one run on one hit with three strikeouts.

For the Mets, Semien finished 2 for 5 with a home run and an RBI. Melendez was 1 for 5 with a home run and an RBI. Bo Bichette had two hits including a double, and scored a run. Juan Soto walked twice and drove in a run on a groundout.

For the Padres, Fermin was 2 for 4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs. Tatis Jr. walked, doubled and scored a run. Jackson Merrill had a single and a walk. Samad Taylor walked twice and scored two runs.

The Mets improved to 29-36 with the victory. The Padres fell to 33-31. The game lasted 2 hours, 56 minutes in front of 41,159 fans.

New York had dropped the series opener 3-2 on Saturday but rebounded behind Benge’s historic night. The Mets had lost three of their previous four games before Sunday’s win. San Diego had won two of its previous three contests but could not sustain momentum after Fermin’s homer.

The Mets will return home to face the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. The Padres will host the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York Mets 4, San Diego Padres 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected San Diego with a 57.00 percent probability to win. The Mets had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 10 went under the over/under line of 7.5.