The Mets may not be a juggernaut, but they should generally be able to beat teams like the Padres. On Friday night, they did so, 6-1.
Dillon Gee entered the game with a 5.44 ERA and left it with a 4.92 ERA. He had 9 K, 3 BB, and allowed just 1 run in 7 innings of work. While his ERA for the season is still high, his 3.75 FIP is second to only Johan Santana among the Mets' starting pitchers.
There were some good signs outside of Gee's performance on the mound, too. The Mets' first run came on a solo bomb by Lucas Duda in the second inning, his first home run since April 28. Gee pulled a Dae-Sung Koo, hitting an unlikely double with one out in the third inning to start a rally. Mike Baxter doubled to bring home home, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled to plate Mike from Whitestone and put the Mets ahead by two runs.
The Mets scored three runs in the fifth, all of which came with two outs. A Daniel Murphy double plated Nieuwenhuis, and Ike Davis singled to bring home the Mets' fifth and sixth runs of the night.
Tim Byrdak and Ramon Ramirez threw a scoreless frame a piece to put the finishing touches on the Mets' easy victory. The series resumes tomorrow as Johan Santana takes the mound for the Mets, while Clayton Richard gets the start for San Diego.
SB Nation Coverage
* Traditional Recap
* Boxscore
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Gaslamp Ball Gamethread
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Dillon Gee, +18.6% WPA, Lucas Duda, +10.3% WPA
Big losers: David Wright, -4.6% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Mike Baxter's rib-eye double in the third, +11.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Dillon Gee's walk of Andy Parrino's in the fifth, -8.2% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +20.2% WPA
Total batter WPA: +29.8% WPA
GWRBI!: Mike Baxter