SAN DIEGO — This is the time when the Mets need to show that they belong. So far, they’re keeping pace.
Despite the lopsided score, the Mets weren’t exactly dominant in an 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday night at Petco Park, but they did just enough to beat a team that hasn’t been doing a whole lot of losing since the All-Star break.
They stayed aggressive at the plate, they stuck to their game plan and they made adjustments when necessary.
“I feel like when we play great teams like this, we tend to engage and get a little bit more locked in,” said third baseman Mark Vientos. “I feel like if we take that with every team, we’re going to be in a good spot towards the end of the season.”
Instead of waiting for the big hit to come, the Mets made the singles count. They spread the offensive out with eight of nine hitters in the starting lineup recording hits. The Mets handed Dylan Cease a loss (12-10) for the second time this season.
After holding a 3-1 lead for most of the night, the Mets finally broke through in the top of the ninth against right-hander Logan Gillaspie, scoring five runs on seven hits and batting around. A sellout crowd hit the Gaslamp Quarter streets earlier than anticipated.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “You’ve got to find a way.”
Jeff McNeil went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Vientos went 2-for-5 with three RBI, two of which came in the ninth. Francisco Lindor, Jose Iglesias and Jesse Winker each had two hits, with Winker hitting an RBI double in the ninth. Pete Alonso went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run.
The ninth-inning surge allowed Mendoza to save closer Edwin Diaz for later in the series. Diaz and long man Jose Butto are about the only relievers who haven’t been struggling for the Mets as of late, and Mendoza could have gone to Butto with Luis Severino on a short leash after going nine his last time out. Mendoza played the matchups and played them well, with left-hander Danny Young and right-handers Reed Garrett and Phil Maton holding the Padres scoreless in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
Huascar Brazoban was shaky in the ninth allowing two runs, but the Mets were able to withstand it, having put so much distance between them and San Diego already
“They did a great job today,” Severino said. “And even Brazobán — I mean, it’s not easy to come into an 8-1 game and try to shut it down.”
Coming off of the best start of his season last time out, Severino’s command wavered at times, but he made the pitches he needed to make to get out of trouble early. He sequenced well and got swings and misses on his sweeper.
The key moment of the game came in the fifth with the Mets up 3-0. Severino loaded the bases with no outs and Jake Cronenworth hit a hard line drive through the right side. Iglesias made a fantastic sliding stop to start a 4-6-3 double play.
“It was a big play,” Iglesias said. “[Lindor] was able to finish it, a good stretch by Pete at first. Sevy was electric. So it was a big play in the game today to keep us in a good spot.”
A run scored, but the damage was minimal. Severino (9-6) held the Padres to one run on five hits, walked four and struck out five over five innings.
“I thought the stuff was good all the way to the fifth when the leadoff walk kind of got him and he lost the zone a little bit there,” Mendoza said. “But he kept making pitches, got the ground ball and made the plays.”
Lindor and Vientos opened the game with back-to-back doubles off Cease to go up 1-0. They went up 3-0 in the fourth thanks to some hustle, with a passed ball scoring Winker and advancing Iglesias to third with two outs. McNeil legged out an infield single to score Iglesias.
The manager commended McNeil’s eagerness on the basepaths and liked the energy he saw from his group as a whole.
“Good at-bats, we continued to put pressure on them, continue to control the strike zone,” Mendoza said. “When we got pitches to hit, we did some damage.”
Cease allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits, walked one and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings. Right-hander Brian Hoeing gave the Mets almost nothing to work with, striking out three and allowing one hit in 1 2/3 innings. But it was over once Gillaspie took the mound.
The Padres (72-57) no longer share first place in the wild card race with the Arizona Diamondbacks (72-56) and the Mets (67-61) are 1.5 games away from the third spot, which is currently occupied by the Atlanta Braves (68-59). Still, every game matters right now and the Mets made a statement in the first of four this weekend against San Diego.
“I love the environment over here,” Vientos said. “It’s exciting. Great ball club that had a great pitcher on the mound, and we did our job. So let’s keep on going.”