Padres 3 Mets 1 (Petco Park, Sn Diego, CA)
Mets record: 42-47
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Blake Snell (6-7)
LP - David Peterson (2-7)
SV - Josh Hader (21)
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.
In a game where the Mets struck out 17 times, Blake Snell was the difference as his 11 K's in six innings sent the Mets on a path to destruction as their winning streak crumbled into dust at Petco Park.
Need to Know
David Peterson was okay, but he was victimized by a bad second inning in which he gave up three runs on four hits. In his other 4 and 1/3 innings of work, he gave up just one hit and struck out six for a total of 7 K's.
Francisco Alvarez remains white hot, hitting a 7th inning home run for the Mets' only run. For Alvarez it was his fourth home run in the last five games. But the Mets only had two hits and three walks combined the rest of the way.
The Mets had two innings to rally off guys not named Snell or Hader, and had one hit aind four strikeouts in those two innings, with Nick Martinez striking out the side in the 8th.
Turning Point
It was the second inning. And more specifically: Matthew Batten's first major league home run, a two run shot which was the margin of victory.
Three Keys
Approach: The Mets had no chance against Snell, whose stuff was on tonight (especially his curve ball.) But their approach was shoddy all game, chasing pitches out of the strike zone en route to 17 K's and one run.
The most egregious example in my mind was Pete Alonso's at-bat against Josh Hader in the ninth. Francisco Lindor. Pete gearned up to hit one of Hader's 101 mph fastballs to the Pacific Ocean, while Hader was throwing him sinkers and sliders the entire at-bat. Hader played Alonso's aggressiveness against him.
Tip Your Cap: Sometimes there's just nothing you can do against a hot pitcher. Blake Snell was dastardly tonight, and after a rough start to the season, he's gone in the complete opposite direction.
A Break Is Needed: The good news is that the strong part of the bullpen will be available to go in the last game before the All Star break, and the Mets will face a righty, which is good news. The bad news is that it's Joe Musgrove, who dominated them in the playoffs to end their season. After everything that has happened in the first half of the season, it's imperative that the Mets go into the break winning 6 of 7 instead of losing two straight.
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