The San Diego Padres won a three-game series against the New York Mets.
The Padres won two out of the three games played against the Mets. The team lost the first game, but then dominated in the last two games.
The first game was a loss, with a final score of 11-5. However, the next two games turned out to be offensive explosions with stellar pitching by the Padres.
Starting pitcher Blake Snell struggled in this game. He pitched only four innings but gave up five runs, with four of the runs being earned. Although the Padres struggled in this one, left fielder Jurickson Profar and designated hitter Luke Voit were able to produce. Profar went 3-for-4 and an RBI, while Voit hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning.
Voit’s home run made the game closer, with the score being 7-5 Mets going into the ninth inning. Unfortunately, the Padres bullpen gave up four runs in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach. The Padres lost this game with 11-5 as the final score.
The next game in the series was a much different result than the previous game.
Starting pitcher Yu Darvish pitched a nearly flawless game. Darvish pitched in seven innings and only gave up two hits without giving up a single run. His ERA was lowered after this performance, as it now sits at 3.61.
Profar hit his seventh home run of the season, and also had three walks in the game. His production has been much better this season as compared to last season.
The final game of the series resulted in a 13-2 victory. The top of the order drove in 10 of the Padres 13 runs. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth drove in five of those runs. Cronenworth went 3-for-4, including a three-run home run in the fifth inning. He now has six home runs on the season and is 2nd on the Padres in RBIs.
Starting pitcher Sean Manaea pitched a solid game for the team. He went seven innings and only gave up two runs, with only one of them being earned. The Mets committed three errors in this game, but even a perfectly fielded game wouldn’t have stopped the Padres from their offensive explosion.
The Padres record is now 35-22, and the team is still in second place in the National League West.
The team is two games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres are still in the top spot in the NL Wildcard race. The team has a 3.5-game lead ahead of the second wildcard team, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Third baseman Manny Machado was an NL MVP frontrunner for most of the season. However, he has been caught in somewhat of a slump recently. Machado is sixth in batting average in the MLB, but he is tied for 40th in home runs and tied for 17th in RBIs. He will have to produce more home runs and RBIs at a higher rate to get back into the NL MVP conversation.
Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove is still well in the NL Cy Young conversation. His 1.64 ERA is good for fourth in the MLB, just slightly behind the leading ERA of 1.56 sported by Martin Perez of the Texas Rangers. Musgrove is also tied for seventh in wins with six, which is just one win behind the leading number.
