The Mets came into San Diego on a seven game win streak. Frankie Montas was getting the start for the Mets, and he was facing off against Dylan Cease for the Padres. The Mets were looking to extend their lead in first in the National League East, while the Padres were in the thick of the Wild Card race.
Dylan Cease struck out the side in the top of the first, and while Montas gave up an one-out single to Luis Arráez in the bottom of the inning, the baserunner was erased with an inning ending double
play.
In the second, after Jeff McNeil walked with one out and Mark Vientos singled to put runners on the corners, Brett Baty hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the first run of the game and give the Mets the first lead of the game. Montas got into some trouble in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with two outs, but he muscled through and stranded all three runners.
The top of the third inning was an adventure for the Mets. Francisco Lindor got a bizarre double off the back of Cease’s head, a scary moment that Cease was able to move past and stay in the game. Then some questionable calls on Juan Soto led to a called strike out that Juan Soto vehemently disagreed with, and Carlos Mendoza got himself tossed stepping in to protect Soto from the same fate. The Mets didn’t score any runs in the inning but they had quite a roller coaster of an inning.
In the bottom of the inning, after two quick outs, Montas hit Manny Machado with a pitch. Machado stole second, and Jackson Merrill walked to put two runners on, and Xander Bogaerts singled to drive in Machado as the tying run. Montas got his way out of it after that but the Mets left the inning missing the lead they had going in.
In the top of the fourth, Mark Vientos almost hit a two-run home run after a McNeil walk, but Fernando Tatís Jr. made an incredible leap to rob him of the home run. Despite another walk by Francisco Alvarez, the Mets were unable to convert the baserunners into any runs. Montas had his first clean inning in the bottom of the inning, sending the Padres down in order.
The fifth was a big inning for the Mets. Brandon Nimmo and Lindor led off with back-to-back singles, and a Soto force out erased Lindor but Soto beat out the throw, then stole second to put two runners in scoring position. After striking out Pete Alonso, Cease walked McNeil to get to Vientos, who got payback by hitting a ball where Tatís couldn’t snag it for a grand slam to put the Mets ahead by four and driving Cease from the game in favor of David Morgan, who was able to get the final out of the inning.
The bottom of the fifth was a disaster for the Mets. Tatís doubled, then Arráez hit a home run to put the Padres within two runs. Machado singled and a one-out Bogaerts double put two runners in scoring position and drove Montas from the game, with Huascar Brazobán coming in for the Mets. After getting Gavin Sheets to pop out for the second out, Brazobán nearly got out of it. But a fielding blunder by Brazobán on a Jake Cronenworth single allowed another run to score. Back-to-back RBI singles from Bryce Johnson and Elias Díaz put the Padres ahead by one run. Despite another walk Brazobán was able to escape the inning with the Mets only down one.
Adrian Morejon came in to pitch for the Padres in the sixth, and he got a quick inning, setting the Mets down in order. Rico Garcia replaced Brazobán in the bottom of the inning, and despite a single and a walk he was able to get through the inning unscathed. Morejon was still pitching to start the seventh. He got two strikeouts, including one particularly egregious one on Soto, where the umpire and Soto shared a tense moment but Soto kept his cool. Morejon was then replaced by Jeremiah Estrada, who got the final out of the inning. Garcia stayed in for the seventh and had a clean inning with a mid-inning injury scare after a bit of an acrobatic attempt to get out of Alonso’s way at first.
Jason Adam got the ball for the Padres in the eighth, and he had a perfect inning with a strikeout. Ryne Stanek replaced Garcia in the bottom of the inning, and he also had a clean inning with a strikeout. Robert Suárez came in to try and close the game for the Padres and get the save. But with one out, Ronny Mauricio put that idea to rest with a big game-tying home run. Suárez got out of it after that but the Mets took the game to the bottom of the ninth, with Gregory Soto coming in to try and push the game to extra innings. Bogaerts singled and pinch-hitting Jose Iglesias reached base on a throwing error by Gregory Soto. Soto got two outs and nearly had the game to the tenth but Elias Díaz hit a line drive single and Nimmo’s throw home was too late to get Iglesias, and the Mets lost the game.
The Mets’ seven game winning streak ended at the hand of the Padres, and the biggest issue was the pitching staff. Both in the pitching sense as well as their fielding ability. The trade deadline is this week and the Mets may be able to infuse the pitching staff with some fresh blood, but that won’t solve issues with fielding fundamentals. The Phillies did lose, however, allowing the Mets to maintain a 1.5 game lead in the East.
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Win Probability Added
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FanGraphsWhat’s WPA?
Big Mets winner: Mark Vientos, +35.8% WPA
Big Mets loser: Gregory Soto, -37.1% WPA
Mets pitchers: -74.7% WPA
Mets hitters: +24.7% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Mark Vientos’ fifth inning grand slam, +36.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Elias Díaz walk off RBI single, -39.3% WPA
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