For the first few innings last night, the pitching matchup of rookie Chris Paddack and Jacob deGrom lived up to the hype. They were both at the top of their game, but the Mets, were shut out while deGrom gave up two runs in seven innings before the Mets’ bullpen gave up two more.
Hunter Renfroe has had success against deGrom in the past, and this game was no exception. He played a role in both of the San Diego runs deGrom allowed. The first was a blast to left field in the fifth to break the scoreless tie, and then his double in the seventh set up second and third with one out. Ty France brought home the run with a sacrifice fly to give the Padres an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
Even one run would have been enough for rookie Chris Paddack, who overwhelmed Mets hitters for over seven innings. He easily dispatched an already struggling lineup and struck out a career-high eleven batters. Perhaps some of his false bravado over a minor award added to it, but he made the Mets look silly, and they had no answer offensively.
With a thin bullpen, the Mets activated Justin Wilson before the game even though he hadn’t appeared in any rehab games coming off his stint on the injured list. He relieved deGrom in the eighth, but after getting the first two outs, he gave up three straight hits that brought home another two runs for San Diego. Staked to a four-run lead in the ninth, Craig Stammen easily sealed the victory against the punchless Mets.
It was a different city, same result for the Mets’ offense, which only managed four hits all night. Jeff McNeil had two of them, and Jacob deGrom had one. Now that the pitching has stabilized somewhat, the offense needs to figure it out fast, as the team is now three games below .500.
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Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big winners: None
Big losers: Pete Alonso -12.9%, Michael Conforto -11.5%
Total pitcher WPA: +1.9%
Total batter WPA: -51.9%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jacob deGrom single in sixth
Teh sux0rest play: Hunter Renfroe home run in fifth