Tatis Rob, Ray Key Padres 5-2 Win

Padres 5 Mets 2 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 57-70

Mets streak: Lost 1

WP - Rob Ray (11-7)

LP - Zac Thornton (3-4)

S- Mason Miller (31)

Seat on the Korner: Fernando Tatis Jr.

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Fernando Tatis Jr. put together the kind of all-around performance that can single-handedly change a baseball game—and considering his father, Fernando Tatis Sr., played for the Mets when Jr. was just six years old, there was an extra layer to this one. Tatis wasted no time making his presence felt, launching the very first pitch of the game 452 feet into the left-center-field seats to give San Diego a 1-0 lead.

Then, in the bottom of the second, he made an even bigger impact with his glove, leaping over the right-field wall to rob Francisco Lindor of what looked like a game-changing grand slam. If the Mets were hoping to turn the momentum, Tatis had other plans.

In the fifth, he came through again with a two-run homer, this one traveling 379 feet into right-center to extend the Padres' lead.

By night's end, Tatis had essentially accounted for seven runs of difference—three for San Diego with his two homers and four taken away from the Mets with his spectacular robbery of Lindor. It was a tremendous night from one of baseball's most dynamic players, and one that would have given Ralph Kiner plenty to talk about on the Korner. Thinking a night like this would get Fernando a Members Only jacket as a parting gift.

Need to Know

• The Mets are in the midst of a six-game homestand (4-1) against the Nationals (2-0) and Padres (2-1).Following this series, the Mets head to Chicago for a brief three-game trip against the White Sox.

• The Mets were denied a fifth straight win, They had won four games in a row, which matched their season-high...The Mets won four straight games three times this year - April 3-7, May 27-31 and August 4-8.

• Roster move: RHP Austin Warren has been reinstated from the 15-Day Injured List. RHP Chayce McDermott has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

• Christopher Morel got the start tonight after he was promoted before Monday night’s game, replacing Gabriel Arias. Morel was batting .321/.382/.716 over the past month with 12 homers in 31 games in Syracuse, He went 1-3 with a walk tonight.

• Morel is the ninth Met to wear 28 over the last 5 seasons, as J.D. Davis Darin Ruff,Abraham Almonte,Tommy Pham,J.D. Martinez,José Azocar , Cedric Mullins,and Tyrone Taylor all wore the number,

• OMG Jose Iglesias threw out the ceremonial first pitch tonight.

  
  

• One night after Bo Bichette reached 500 RBIs, he continued his red hot August as he now has hit safely in eight of his last nine games and with his two doubles is batting .349 in August.

• Tonight, Luis Torrens went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI, and he is now batting .500 (4-for-8) with two home runs, three RBI and a walk on the current homestand, following a .462 (6-for-13) road trip with three homers, eight RBI, three walks, a stolen base and two strikeouts, while extending his current hitting streak to four games at .400 (4-for-10) with three home runs, four RBI and four runs scored.

• Luis Robert Jr. provided the Mets’ only other run as he launched his seventh home run of the season, a 107.7 mph line drive that traveled 336 feet to center field off of Adrian Morejon.

• The Mets were 0-11 with runners in scoring position tonight,

•  Overall, the Mets are 29-35 at home this season.

• The Mets have now won 10 of their 14 games. The Padres have won 9 of their last 12.

• The Mets are now 23-23 since Andy Green took over for Carlos Mendoza.

• The rubber game of the series is tomorrow at 1:10 pm with RHP Michael King (8-8, 3.41) taking on RHP Robert Stock (0-2, 6.57)

  
  

Turning Point

The turning point of tonight's came in the bottom of the second inning, when the Mets appeared poised to completely flip the game. After Francisco Alvarez, Christopher Morel and A.J. Ewing all reached base, the Mets loaded the bases , bringing Francisco Lindor to the plate with two outs and a chance to erase San Diego's early lead and put New York in front. But Fernando Tatis Jr., who had already staked the Padres to a 1-0 advantage with his bat by launching the very first pitch of the game into the seats, changed the inning—and potentially the entire game—with his glove. Lindor lifted a ball toward right field that looked destined to clear the wall for a grand slam, but Tatis timed his leap perfectly, going over the fence to take away four runs from the Mets. What had the makings of a 4-1 lead instead became the final out of the inning ending the threat. Tatis had already given the Padres a run with his bat; now he had taken four away from the Mets with his glove, turning what could have been a Mets breakthrough into one of the game's defining moments. Rob Ray's reaction says it all.

Three Keys

Laz Daiz and Confused

Laz Diaz and the ABS challenge system, played a significant role in the night’s strike-zone drama. Coming into the game, Diaz had seen 103 ABS challenges in 2026, with 61 of those calls overturned—a 59.2 percent overturn rate. That trend continued tonight, as five calls were challenged, with four resulting in a change or confirmation of the original ruling: Christopher Morel, A.J. Ewing and Fernando Tatis Jr. each had strikes overturned to balls, while a ball to Torrens was changed to a strike. The only challenge that stood was a strike called on Manny Machado. With Diaz already having more than half of his challenged calls overturned this season, the Mets and Padres had plenty of reason to take a second look—and tonight, the ABS system once again proved to be very much part of the game.

Gloves Off

We’ve all heard of “tarps off,” but apparently the Mets decided to introduce a new trend in the fifth inning: gloves off. It started when Jake Cronenworth lined a ball to left field and A.J. Ewing made a terrific diving catch—only to have his glove hit the ground, come off his hand and take the baseball with it. Two batters later, after Fernando Tatis Jr. launched his second home run of the night, Luis Rengifo reached on a throwing error by third baseman Bo Bichette when Christopher Morel attempted a swipe tag and, in a moment that perfectly fit the theme, his glove came flying off as well. Two plays, two gloves, two defensive miscues, and suddenly “Gloves Off” had a pretty good argument for becoming the Mets’ newest rallying cry—or at least something they’ll want to keep off the field.

Ray of Hope

Robbie Ray turned in exactly the kind of start the Padres were hoping for when they acquired him from the Giants at the trade deadline. After struggling in his first two starts with San Diego, Ray settled in against the Mets and delivered six strong innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run while walking three and striking out four. His only real blemish was a solo home run by Luis Torrens, which accounted for the Mets’ lone run against him. Ray had faced the Mets earlier this season with San Francisco, allowing two runs over 5⅓ innings, but this was a much more efficient performance when San Diego needed it most. Entering the night with a 3.28 ERA over 131⅔ innings, Ray looked every bit like the veteran starter the Padres envisioned when they brought him aboard, preventing the Mets from mounting any sustained offensive threat and turning a lead over to the bullpen. Bradgley Rodriguez recorded one out before Adrian Morejón took over and worked 1⅔ innings. Morejón did surrender a run, but he escaped a major jam in the eighth by getting A.J. Ewing to chase a pitch out of the strike zone on a full count , leaving the tying runs stranded. Mason Miller then took over in the ninth and closed the door retiring the side in order completing a well-executed night of pitching for San Diego.