The New York Mets had the San Diego Padres backed into a corner through seven innings on Sunday afternoon but couldn’t secure the series win. Edwin Diaz entered the game in the ninth inning with the score tied, but his 2-0 slider to Padres rookie Jackson Merrill ended up in the right field seats, giving the Mets a 3-2 loss at Petco Park.
“Yeah, I just missed my location,” Diaz said while speaking to the media. “I was trying to throw my slider down and in to him, and I just left it in the middle.”
The Mets required only five more outs on Sunday to cap off a strong few days in perfect weather and make headway in the wild-card race against two of the three teams above them.
Everything seemed to be under control until Jose Butto walked No. 9 hitter Matt McCoy in the eighth inning. Shortly after, Butto saw Jurickson Profar crush a two-run homer, erasing the Mets’ lead.
Edwin Diaz losing the game for the Mets
The Mets ended up with a split in their four-game series against a top wild-card contender. Edwin Diaz walked off the mound with his head down after Jackson Merrill’s ninth-inning blast sealed their fate.
The loss cost New York the chance to match their season high by moving seven games above .500.
The Mets stayed 2½ games behind the Atlanta Braves for the NL’s third wild card. Diaz struck out Jake Cronenworth to start the ninth, but rookie sensation Merrill capitalized on a 2-0 slider to end the game.
The Mets have Monday to regroup in Arizona before opening a three-game series against the Diamondbacks the next day.
Arizona, which has posted a 25-8 record (.758) since the All-Star break and is on a six-game winning streak, will present another significant challenge. However, Diaz noted that the clubhouse is in a “good spot.”
Good loss for New York
He acknowledged, “It’s better to win three out of four, but we split the series against a good team, a playoff team and I think we feel good about it.”
While splitting a four-game series on the road against the Padres isn’t disgraceful, the Mets are in a chase and the missed chances sting.
New York took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when J.D. Martinez sent a solo home run to right-center off Padres starter Martin Perez. In the seventh inning, Mark Vientos doubled the lead with his 21st home run to the same spot off Padres reliever Jason Adam.
The Mets controlled the game until Profar blasted a two-run homer off Butto in the eighth, leveling the score at 2-2. In his second inning of work, Butto walked McCoy before Profar launched a 95-mph sinker over the right-field fence to even the game.
Butto got Luis Arraez out with two runners on base for the second out in the seventh. Luis Torrens then threw out Merrill trying to steal second, ending the inning.
The Mets’ bullpen collapse overshadowed a strong performance by Jose Quintana, who delivered 6⅓ scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and two walks. Although Quintana didn’t record any strikeouts, he achieved his first quality start since July 29, following a rough stretch where he had given up a total of 19 runs in his last four outings.
Quintana’s performance was crucial, especially given his struggles earlier in August, where he had posted an 8.27 ERA across his previous four starts.
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