If you missed the first two innings of the series opener between the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets, you essentially missed the game. The Padres had four runners thrown out at the plate over the first two innings, with three of those plays coming from outfield assists. The Mets scored their only two runs of the game thanks to a rough start to the game by San Diego starter Walker Buehler and New York went on to win the contest 2-1 in Flushing, New York on Monday.
The Padres hit four singles in the top of the first inning off Mets starter Nolan McLean, but two runners, Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado were thrown out at the plate by right fielder Carson Benge on two separate plays to keep San Diego off the scoreboard.
New York turned a single and a walk into a run thanks to an RBI-single by Bo Bichette in the bottom of the first. The hit allowed A.J. Ewing to score and moved Francisco Lindor to third base to leave runners on the corners with no outs. Benge grounded out, but Lindor was unable to score, however Bichette moved to second. Luis Robert Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to center field which allowed Lindor to score to give the Mets a 2-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Buehler ended the inning after inducing a line out from Jared Young to end the inning.
The Padres were able to load the bases in the top of the second inning after McLean issued a walk to Luis Campusano, hit Gavin Sheets with a pitch and issued a second walk in the inning to Xander Bogaerts. Luis Rengifo hit a grounder back to McLean and he threw home for the force out for the first out of the inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. just missed a grand slam but did get a sacrifice fly that allowed Sheets to score to cut the Mets lead to 2-1. Jake Cronenworth followed with a two-out single to left field, but Bogaerts ran through a stop sign at third base and was thrown out at the plate trying to score.
Neither team was able to add to their totals throughout the remainder of the contest. San Diego ended the game with more hits than New York (7-5), but the plays on defense by Benge, McLean and Ewing held the Padres to just one run and allowed the Mets to get a series-opening win.
The teams will meet again on Tuesday at 4:10 p.m. and San Diego will hope to have more to show for its offensive efforts.
Padres News:
- MLB owners held a vote and unanimously approved the sale of the Padres to Jose E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones on Monday. A press conference to introduce the new owners will be held next week.
- Ethan Salas has remained hot and hit another home run with the El Paso Chihuahuas.
Baseball News:
- Pete Crow-Armstrong his a walk-off home run to lift the Chicago Cubs over the Chicago White Sox.
- Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was a no-show at Fenway Park and was placed on the restricted list.
- Shohei Ohtani hit two home runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers got a dominant win over the Colorado Rockies.
- The Philadelphia Phillies squeezed past the Miami Marlins, 6-5.
- The Cincinnati Reds split a double-header with the St. Louis Cardinals thanks to a walk-off double by Eloy De La Cruz.