For the second straight game, the Mets had a run in two batters into the game en route to an early 2-0 lead. For the second straight game, the Padres rallied to take the lead, but this time, the offense was not able to respond, as the Mets dropped the rubber game of their series in San Diego, 3-2.
After Jeff McNeil hustled out a leadoff double, Amed Rosario singled to plate that first run. Tomas Nido homered to straightaway center to extend the lead to two in the top of the second.
The Mets made the bold decision to start recently-acquired Wilmer Font in the series finale. Font had a solid first inning, but in the second, Eric Hosmer homered to the opposite field on a ball that barely eluded McNeil’s effort at the wall. In the third, Font surrendered a double to opposing pitcher Matt Strahm, who came around to tie the game on Franmil Reyes’s RBI single. Font went only four, but acquitted himself fairly decently given the circumstances of his recent acquisition and lack of work.
The Mets had a couple of cracks at breaking the tie, but both were stymied in part by Manuel Margot’s glove. Margot brought back a Pete Alonso homer to end the sixth, then barely missed a spectacular catch on Brandon Nimmo’s seventh inning double, which prevented Michael Conforto from scoring—albeit with some questionable Conforto baserunning leaving him at third base after the hit. Still, there was only one out, but Nido and Todd Frazier struck out to strand Conforto.
With the game still deadlocked into the bottom of the seventh, Hunter Renfroe led off with a home run off of Tyler Bashlor to deep left that no one could even try to bring back, and would provide the ultimate margin of victory. The Mets put two on against Kirby Yates in the ninth, but Tomas Nido struck out to end the game.
SB Nation GameThreads
Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Robert Gsellman, +13.6%, Brandon Nimmo, +11.6%
Big losers: Tyler Bashlor, -17.8%, Pete Alonso, -13.1%, Tomas Nido, -11.8%, Robinson Cano, -10.4%
Total pitcher WPA: -4.1%
Total batter WPA: -46.9%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Brandon Nimmo’s double in the top of the seventh, +11.6%
Teh sux0rest play: Hunter Renfroe’s solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, -21.6%