Padres 7 Mets 0 (Petco Park, San Diego, CA)
Mets record: 67-62
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Joe Musgrove (4-4)
LP - Paul Blackburn (5-4)
Seat on the Korner:
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.
Luis Arraez or Kyle Higashioka had games which would have earned "Seat on the Corner" on most nights. But Joe Musgrove going seven innings and giving up one hit on a night where he was perfect through 4 and 1/3 wins the seat on a night when most Padres could have staked a claim to be interviewed by Ralph.
Need to Know
Paul Blackburn had a rough night. Blackburn gave up 5 runs on 10 hits while striking out only one, and giving up home runs to Luis Arraez and Kyle Higashioka in 2 and 1/3 innings. Then to add injury to insult, Blackburn had to leave the game after being hit on the hand by a David Peralta line drive.
Joe Musgrove continued his recent dominance of the Mets, throwing seven innings of shutout ball, giving up one hit and striking out nine. Including the 2022 deciding Wild Card game, the Mets haven't scored a run vs Musgrove in 20 innings.
Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 with a leadoff home run, bringing his career numbers against the Mets to 26 hits in 57 at-bats. (,456)
Higashioka finished his night 2-for-4 with three RBI including that home run off Blackburn.
Manny Machado went 3-for-5 with an RBI.
Every Padres starter had at least one hit tonight.
Starling Marte's double was the only Mets hit of the night off Musgrove.
Francisco Lindor's double with two outs in the 9th extended his on base streak to 22 games. The Mets would finish with two hits.
Turning Point
It was when the Mets left their hotel.
But that video isn't on Twitter, so here's Luis Arraez's home run to make it 1-0.
It was the first ever leadoff home run hit off Blackburn.
Three Keys
Blackburned
Paul Blackburn isn't a big swing and miss guy, and when he doesn't have it, you figure it out early. Tonight was one of those nights. Seven Padres hitters already had at least one hit against Blackburn before the second inning was over.
It made me long for the days of long men like Darren Oliver. If they had one, then perhaps they would have had the opportunity to pull Blackburn after the second inning when the Mets were already down 4-0. But they didn't, and Blackburn pitched the third inning, where things got worse ...
Getting hit in the pitching hand is never a good thing, but there was a little solace as his pitching hand saved his face from taking the brunt of that.
The Mets called it a "hand contusion", which is better than "compound fracture". But more tests are coming tomorrow, which could show something after the swelling goes down.
On The Other Side, A Start With Shine
Here's how dominant Musgrove was against the Mets tonight: He was on a pitch count ... and still made it through seven innings, and probably could have made it through 8 and made it under 90 pitches. But he got through seven innings while throwing only 75 bullets, and with the Padres up 6-0, there wasn't any reason to push it.
And if that wasn't enough, Musgrove also managed to make what has to be the play of the night, and one of the top ten plays of the season when it's all said and done.
When it rains, it pours ... even in San Diego.
The One Sparkle
You want a silver lining? How about the Mets bullpen keeping the Padres in the same stratosphere on a night that had "Jose Iglesias pitching the 8th inning" written all over it. Ryne Stanek gave up a run in an inning and 2/3's, but looked much better than he has been. Danny Young pitched two hitless innings, and Adam Ottavino took care of the last two innings with minimal damage to keep the top end of the bullpen fresh for Saturday.
If Blackburn's injury requires him to land on the IL, don't be surprised if Huascar Brazoban makes a very quick return from Syracuse for perhaps an extra arm on Saturday.
Comments