Gary Cohen broke out the dictionary to find a way to describe the incredible catch made by Carson Benge in the ninth inning of Sunday’s Mets’ 5-1 win over the Angels.
The SNY broadcaster called the diving catch a “pulchritudinous play” on air as broadcast partner Todd Zeile looked as astonished by the play as he was by Cohen’s choice of words to describe it.
“I’m not going to say it was pulchritudinous, but I’m going to take your word for it,” Zeile said, “That was an amazing play.”
For those that don’t know, pulchritudinous is an adjective that means physically beautiful or attractive, per Dictionary.com.
The play by Benge would certainly fit the bill.
With Angels second baseman Vaughn Grissom up in the ninth, he hit a ball that looked destined to fall in right field.
However, Benge was able to hustle over and reach out and grab the ball as he was diving to make the impressive out.
It was the second out of the inning and third baseman Oswald Peraza struck out to end the game.
“I was kind of surprised to tell you the least,” Benge told reporters after the game about the catch. “If I see a ball that I think I can get to, I’m going to go after it — I’m just glad that I was able to come down with that one there.”
Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza told reporters that if Benge wasn’t able to make the play then “that’s a completely different inning.”
The Mets won two of the three games they played against the Angels this weekend, also defeating Los Angeles 4-3 on Friday night.
The Mets will play six more games on the road, playing a three-game series against the Rockies beginning on Monday and then a weekend series against the Diamondbacks.
