Scott Shines in Mets’ Victory Over Padres
SAN DIEGO — The return of Christian Scott has been a bright spot for the Mets in an otherwise disappointing season.
The struggling rotation received a boost from Scott, who made his third straight start on Friday night, leading the Mets to a 5-0 victory against the Padres.
After starting the night at 28-35, the Mets have now secured two consecutive wins, thanks in large part to home runs from Jared Young and Luis Torrence. This win marked Scott’s second straight, despite the fact that he had never started a major league game before this season.
Scott was on the brink of completing six innings for the first time this year but was ejected following a single by Manny Machado with two outs in the sixth inning.
He pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks on 98 pitches, bringing his ERA down to 2.50.
In his previous two games against Miami, Scott had combined for 10⅓ innings while giving up just one earned run. Notably, his latest outing marked the 17th consecutive start in which he allowed four or fewer runs, a franchise record. Eight of those starts were made this season after he missed time recovering from Tommy John surgery last year.
“I’ve noticed his improvement in the last few games, and it’s really encouraging,” coach Carlos Mendoza remarked before the game. “His fastball movement is impressive; he competes in the strike zone with every pitch, and it’s really fun to watch.”
Young kicked off the scoring in the second inning with a home run against Michael King, giving the Mets an early lead. It was Young’s third home run in his last six games, and he started the night with an .899 OPS since returning from the disabled list on May 26.
In the third inning, an RBI triple from Bo Bichette extended the Mets’ lead to 2-0. After Torrence doubled, Bichette hit a shot down the right-field line. Unfortunately, Fernando Tatis Jr. had some confusion handling the ball, allowing Bichette to race to third.
Bichette had a stellar 4-for-4 game on Wednesday in Seattle, but the Mets are still hoping for more consistent production from him after a rough start to the season. He ended the night with two hits in four at-bats, yet his OPS remains low at .609.
In the fifth inning, Torrence hit a two-run homer, pushing the score to 4-0. Brett Batty began the game with a leadoff single, and after one out, Torrence launched his first home run of the season over the center field fence.
This weekend might mark Torrence’s last as a starting catcher, as Francisco Alvarez is set to undergo surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee and could return for the next homestand after some time in the minors.
Scott issued a walk to Rodolfo Duran to start the sixth inning, got two outs, but a single from Machado led to a pitching change. Huascar Brazoban came in and struck out Ty France to close the inning.
Brazoban pitched a scoreless seventh before Luke Weaver and AJ Minter took over.
Weaver extended his scoreless streak to 14 games, pitching 16 innings during that time while yielding only nine hits and four walks.
After AJ Ewing stole both second and third base and then singled, Batty contributed an RBI single in the ninth inning.
