Who's Your Padre? Mets Weak Spots Showcased in Loss to San Diego

Padres 7 Mets 1 (Petco Park, San Diego, CA)

Mets record: 62-46

Mets streak: Lost 2

Last 10: 7-3

WP -Wandy Peralta (5-1)

LP - Jose Butto (3-2)

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.

San Diego's second-year centerfielder and cleanup hitter, Jackson Merrill, led the way for the Padres in tonight' game, earning him a seat on the Korner. Merrill's first inning two-out single to right brought home the game's first run. Then, an inning after the Mets were able to tie it in the top of the 5th, Merrill struck again with two outs. This time it was a run-scoring triple that put San Diego ahead to stay.

Need to Know

• Tonight's game was the last Mets contest scheduled to start after 8:10pm ET.

• Mets catcher Luis Torrens threw out another runner trying to steal second base. Tonight it was Fernando Tatis Jr. with no outs in the 6th inning.

• Mark Vientos extended his hitting streak to 8 games with a sixth-inning single to center. He added another single in the ninth. Over these 8 games, Vientos is batting .357 (10-28) with a run scored, two doubles, one home run (a grand slam), seven RBIs, and a walk.

• In case that sample size is too small, over his last 20 games, Vientos is batting .333 (17-51), with a run scored, four double, one triple, one home run (a grand slam), ten RBIs, and a walk.

• Sean Manaea continues to look strong since coming off the IL, this time throwing five full innings, giving up just three hits, one run, no walks, and striking out four. This is the second straight start that Manaea lasted five innings. He has not allowed more than a run in any of his four appearances to date.

• While Starling Marte's streak of multi-hit games ended at six tonight, he did drive in the Mets only run on a fifth inning sacrifice fly.

  
  

Turning Point

One day after his walk-off heroics, Elias Diaz was at it again.

While the Mets were already down 2-1, they were hanging with the Padres and for a little bit it seemed like they were just a couple hits away from taking this game over. That all changed with one out in the bottom of the 7th inning, when Diaz, and his .198 batting average, doubled down the left field line, driving home two (and driving his average above the Mendoza line). Diaz would come in to score a few batters later on a Manny Machado 3-run home run.

Three Keys

Sot-oh No

Mets outfielder Juan Soto suffered a left foot contusionafter fouling a ball off the foot in his fourth inning at-bat. Soto finished the AB with a ground out to second base. He was then removed from the game when the Mets took the field in the bottom of the inning.

X-rays taken after the game were negative and he is considered day-to-day.

Padres Pen On Display

San Diego starting pitcher Ryan Bergert was removed after throwing 83 pitches in the first four innings, while only giving up 1 run on 2 hits and 4 walks. And that's when things got really challenging for the Mets. The Padres strength so far this season has been their bullpen, which sent three pitchers to the All-Star game. They showed off their abilities tonight with five relievers combining to shutout the Mets in the final five innings, striking out 4, walking none, and giving up just 2 hits.

Mets Pen On Display As Well

Mets relievers, however, did not fare as well. Starter Sean Manaea looked solid in his 5 innings of work before turning the ball over to reliever Jose Butto in the 6th. Butto walked the first batter he faced (Fernando Tatis Jr.) on four pitches. And while Luis Torrens was able to nab the Padres right fielder while attempting to steal second, it only temporarily delayed the trouble. Butto gave up the leading run in the inning, and was then charged with 4 more runs in the bottom of the 7th. After a 2-out walk to Luis Arraez in the seventh, Butto's night was over and Chris Devenski was called in to save the day. He didn't. Instead he gave up a 3-run home run to Padres third baseman Manny Machado, putting a challenging come back almost entirely out of reach.

In all, Butto and Devenski combined for 3 innings pitched, 6 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout.