The New York Mets and San Diego Padres acted in polar-opposite fashions at the trade deadline.
But two weeks later, they’re equally resurgent.
The Mets will look to continue playing spoiler Monday night, when they host the Padres in the opener of a three-game series.
Nolan McLean (8-8, 3.42 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against fellow right-hander Walker Buehler (7-5, 4.88).
Both teams remained hot Sunday. The Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 4-3 win, while the Padres won the rubber match of a three-game set by blanking the Cleveland Guardians 5-0.
The Mets are 9-3 since the deadline, tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the best record in baseball over that span. The Padres are 9-4.
But only San Diego could have realistically harbored hopes of enjoying such a hot streak once the flurry of activity ended on Aug. 3.
The Padres won eight of nine entering deadline day to climb within one game of the final National League wild-card spot.
President of baseball operations A.J. Preller, known for his aggressiveness, reworked San Diego’s rotation by acquiring Casey Mize and Robbie Ray. While Mize earned his first win with the Padres on Sunday by tossing six innings of three-hit ball, the Padres’ surge has been sparked by the awakening of their long-dormant offense.
Jake Cronenworth, Luis Rengifo, Gavin Sheets and Jase Bowen all delivered solo homers Sunday for San Diego, which is averaging 4.8 runs per game while hitting 19 homers over the last 13 contests.
“It’s kind of come together, hasn’t it?” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “Our offense has played better, and then the home runs have come with it. It allows us to score runs really quickly. That’s just what home runs do. We don’t have to put three hits together to score a run. It felt like early in the season, that was the only way we were scoring runs was putting three hits together.”
The Mets have also improved offensively since the deadline, when the last-place club waved the white flag by trading starting pitchers Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta, relievers Huascar Brazoban, A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley and Luke Weaver, and reserve outfielder Tyrone Taylor.
Luis Torrens hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning Sunday for the Mets, who used the long ball to spark comebacks in all three wins over the Nationals.
Francisco Lindor hit a game-tying homer in Friday’s 4-1 victory. Carson Benge’s sixth-inning blast Saturday pulled New York within one run in its eventual 5-4 win.
“I think the mentality has flipped from ‘Here we go again’ to ‘Here we go again, this is what we do,'” interim Mets manager Andy Green said. “I think there’s a big distinction between those two things and your expectations. I think your play follows that. I don’t feel anybody deflated after we find ourselves trailing in a baseball game.”
McLean took a hard-luck loss in his most recent start Tuesday, when he allowed one hit — an Ozzie Albies solo homer — in six innings as the Mets fell to the Atlanta Braves 4-0. Buehler earned the win Tuesday after giving up one run over six innings in the Padres’ 11-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
McLean didn’t factor into the decision in his lone career start against the Padres on June 6, when he allowed one run over six innings in San Diego’s 3-2 win. Buehler is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in six regular-season starts against the Mets.
–Field Level Media
