Mets' bats can't deliver, bullpen implodes late in 7-1 loss to Padres

Yahoo

4 days ago

The Mets were defeated by the San Diego Padres 7-1 on Tuesday night at Petco Park.
Here are some takeaways...
- San Diego jumped on Sean Manaea for a first-inning run, and then threatened for more in the second. Former Met Jose Iglesias led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a groundout, but he was erased trying to score on a squeeze play by a beautiful glove flip from Manaea.
The big southpaw was able to find his groove from there, setting the next 12 Padres down in order. He indicated to Carlos Mendoza that he wanted one more inning coming off the mound in the bottom of the fifth, but the manager quickly shut that idea down.
Manaea was able to get up to 86 pitches on the night and closed his book with a final line of one run on three hits, just one walk, and four punchouts. He now has a 2.08 ERA and has allowed just one earned run in each of his four outings since returning from the injured list.
- The Mets' offense suffered a big blow in the middle of this one, as Juan Soto was forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his foot during his second at-bat in the fourth. He finished that plate appearance with a groundout to second, but was replaced during the next half inning with a foot contusion.
Tyrone Taylor entered the game in center and Jeff McNeil slid over to right field.
- Taylor ended up playing just that half inning, as he was pulled for a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth. Starling Marte lifted a game-tying sacrifice fly, and then entered the game in right, making just his second rightfield appearance of the season.
McNeil eventually shifted back to right when Luisangel Acuña entered in place of Marte to play center.
- Opting not to have Manaea at least start the sixth backfired on the Mets quickly, as the bullpen imploded. Jose Buttó struggled in both the sixth and seventh innings, retiring just four of the 11 batters he faced to allow five runs on two walks and five hits.
Two of those came on a 404-foot homer off the bat of Manny Machado that Chris Devenski allowed.
- The Mets' bats went down very quietly against the top-ranked Padres bullpen. Jeremiah Estrada, Wandy Peralta, Adrian Morejon, Ron Marinaccio, and Yuki Matsui combined to allow just two baserunners across the final five innings of the ballgame.
- Mark Vientos had two of New York's four knocks on the night, extending his hitting streak to eight games.
Game MVP: Manny Machado
Machado continued his recent heater with a dagger three-run shot to cap off the seventh.
Highlights
What's next
Clay Holmes takes the mound against Yu Darvish in the series finale on Wednesday at 4:10 p.m.