SAN DIEGO — If you listen to the Mets, you’ll hear them saying all the right things. This is just another series. These games count just as much as any other. The Padres are a good team that plays well, so they face a tough task this weekend.
But when you look at the reality – the rankings, the calendar – you see that the above statements are not entirely true.
This isn’t just another series. These games count mathematically more than those against non-contenders. The Padres are a good team that didn’t play well enough in Thursday night’s 8-3 win over the Mets.
Consider it another incremental test that the Mets passed at their proving ground in October. They are 3-1 as they approach the halfway point of this 10-game series against teams with playoff spots. So far, so good — better than good, actually.
This time, the Mets (67-61) used a five-run ninth inning to turn a close game into a clear win over San Diego (72-57), one of the teams chasing them in the National League wild card race. With the win, the Mets remained 1 1/2 games behind Atlanta in last place.
The middle relievers delivered a stellar performance. Against a team that has had a penchant for late comebacks of late, three Mets bullpen arms – Danny Young, Reed Garrett and Phil Maton – combined for three hitless innings while the game was still close.
Edwin Diaz warmed up for a save opportunity until the batters made his services unnecessary. Huascar Brazoban threw instead and allowed two runs.
San Diego’s biggest threat to right-hander Luis Severino came in the fifth, his final inning. He walked two batters and allowed a single to Luis Arraez to load the bases with no outs. Jake Cronenworth slammed a grounder to the right side of the infield, where second baseman Jose Iglesias fielded it cleanly, setting up a double play.
A run was scored, but Severino avoided real damage with Iglesias’ catch, which got Xander Bogaerts to ground out, putting runners on second and third base.
That left Severino with a good enough final record: five innings, one run. He managed five hits and four walks, clearly a weaker version of himself compared to his 113-pitch shutout of the Marlins last weekend.
The Mets scored three runs (two earned) in 6 1/3 innings against Padres right-hander Dylan Cease.
They got off to a fast start, with Francisco Lindor (2-for-4) and Mark Vientos (2-for-5, three RBIs) hitting back-to-back doubles to start the game.
Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil each had three hits and one RBI. Every Mets starter had a hit except Francisco Alvarez, who finished 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.
Tim Healey is the Mets reporter for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of Hometown Hardball, a book about minor league baseball in the Northeast.
