The San Diego Padres ran into some tough pitching in their series opener against the New York Mets as they managed just seven singles in a 2-1 loss in the series opener.
All of the scoring happened early in this one as the Mets got on the board in the first inning off starter Walker Buehler. A.J. Ewing started the game with a single, and Francisco Lindor walked. Bo Bichette singled to get the first run home, and Luis Robert Jr. drove in a second run with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
The Padres came back off McLean to scratch out a run in the second as McLean lost the plate, walking two hitters and hitting Gavin Sheets with a pitch. McLean managed to mostly get out of the jam, but Fernando Tatis Jr. did get a run home with a sacrifice fly to cut the Mets lead to 2-1.
The Padres will also lament some lost opportunites in the first, though, as they ran into a pair of outs on the baes. Right fielder Carson Benge threw out two Padres in the first inning, with his first throw nailing Jake Cronenworth at the plate at a speed of 99.9 mph. Benge then proceeded to gun down Manny Machado with a throw that clocked in at 103.9.
That score held through six innings as both starter put up zeroes. McLean’s overall line was less impressive as he scatted six hits and four walks to go with three strikouts, while Buehler posted a “deuces are wild” line as he gave up two hits, two runs and two walks to go with four strikeouts.
The bullpens took over after that, with Jonathan Pintaro and Nate Lavender handling the relief chores for the Mets and Kyle Hart doing the honors for the Padres in the seventh and eighth. All three relievers kept the zeroes coming, although the Mets did briefly rally with a pair of singles from Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco, but the rally died when Hart got three straight outs.
The Mets turned to Daniel Duarte to close, and Duarte pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth as the Padres went out quietly with no ninth-inning thunder in this one.
The loss cost the Padres a lot of the momentum they gained after taking two of three in Cleveland, and they fell behind the Philadelphia Phillies by a game in the race for the second wild-card spot. The Diamondbacks were down big late to the Boston Red Sox, however, so they should keep their hold on the third wild card.