Padres 3 Mets 2 (Petco Park, San Diego, CA)
Mets record: 68-63
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Robert Suarez (8-1)
LP - Edwin Diaz (5-2)
Seat on the Korner: Jackson Merrill
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
He could have been the goat (not capitalized, not an acronym), but instead he was the hero. Jackson Merrill overslid second base on a steal and was tagged out by Francisco Lindor to squash a potential Padres rally in the seventh, but then he hit the walkoff homer off Edwin Diaz to win the game for the Pads. Lots to talk about, so grab a Rheingold, Jackson, catch your breath and let us know what was going through your mind both times.
Need to Know
The Mets split the four-game series with the Padres and lost a chance to match their season high of seven games over .500 and pick up a game on the Braves in the wild card race. The Mets did win the season series against the Padres, 5-2, which of course has some playoff implications.
The loss negated some good hitting by J.D. Martinez, who had a lifetime batting average of .091 against Padres starter Martin Perez going into the game. Martinez singled in the first and then launched one to right center in the third, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Mark Vientos homered to almost the same spot in the seventh to account for the Mets' other run.
Before the game, the Mets placed Paul Blackburn on the 15-day IL and recalled Huascar Brazoban. But whether Brazoban stays the week is in doubt. The Mets have not yet named a starter for Thursday's series finale in Arizona, but one possibility mentioned is Tylor Megill; recalling him from AAA would necessitate someone being sent down. Advice to Huascar: Don't send out your laundry.
The Mets have an off-day Monday before facing the Diamondbacks for three Tuesday-Thursday. Sean Manaea starts Tuesday, followed by Luis Severino.
Turning Point
The easy choice would be the Jackson Merrill walkoff homer. But we'll make the case that it really was Jurickson Profar's two-run, game tying blast in the eighth. With a bullpen back-end as strong as Padres', that homer really turned the tide in favor of San Diego and made the Mets' chances of winning the game all the more difficult.
Three Keys
The Bullpen Blows It
Possibly for opposite reasons, Mets relievers Jose Butto and Edwin Diaz cost the Mets the game. Butto may be showing signs of overwork. He struggled with his control even before giving up the game tying homer, and left Phil Maton to close out the eighth. Diaz, maybe, was a trifle rusty from underuse as he, too, seemed to have difficulty placing his pitches where he wanted. It took eight pitches to strike out Jake Croneworth and he went 2-0 on Jackson Merrill before serving up the gopher ball that ended the game.
Quintana Bounces Back
Jose Quintana had been having an August to forget -- 0-2 with a 9.19 ERA in his last three -- and needed a bounceback. He got it. Taking a cue from David Peterson's Saturday pitch-to-contact success, Quintana went 6 1/3 scoreless, strikeoutless innings . He gave up three hits and walked only two. It was only the fourth time in franchise history that a hurler went 6 1/3 scoreless without a strikeout. The key: ground ball outs, 13 of them. Quintana lost the win when his replacement, Jose Butto, gave up a two-run homer to Jurickson Profar in the eighth.
Defense Doesn't Rest, Part II
The adage is that winning teams need to be strong up the middle defensively. Francisco Lindor, Jose Iglesias, Luis Torrens and Harrison Bader continue to show that the Mets have defensive strength up the middle. Iglesias made an unbelievable play on a ground ball up the middle to force Mason McCoy at second, and, from the ground, tried to roll the ball to Pete Alonso to nearly double up Jurickson Profar in the sixth. In the seventh, Torrens' accurate throw put Lindor in the perfect position to tag Jackson Merrill after he overran rhe base on a steal as Manny Machado watched from third instead of breaking for the plate.
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