SAN DIEGO — There was a postseason atmosphere in the air as two ace starting pitchers battled it out in front of a sellout crowd Thursday, with the emphasis on scoring for much of the night.
But ultimately, the Mets rolled with the punches.
The Padres took a jab.
A close game that went eight innings gave the Mets a comfortable lead and a 8-3 victory in front of 41,673 fans at Petco Park to kick off a 10-game road trip with wild-card potential.
The Mets (67-61) won for the third time in four games and are 1.5 lengths behind Atlanta for the third wild card spot in the National League.
The Padres (72-57) are half a game behind Arizona for the first wild card spot.
“I feel like when you play a good team like this, you tend to stay focused,” Mark Vientos said. “If we can play like any other team, we’ll be in a good position going into the end of the season.”
The Mets scored three runs in the seventh inning off Padres ace Dylan Cease, then exploded late, finishing with 17 hits.
But perhaps the best sign was how the bullpen seemed to rise to the challenge after Luis Severino was unable to pitch late in the game.
Danny Young, Reid Garrett and Phil Mutton each pitched one hitless, scoreless inning, and Huáscar Brazovan pitched a scoreless ninth inning after the Mets took control early in the game.
The Mets led 3-1 before scoring five runs in the ninth, with Brazovan scoring two of them.
“It was really good to see the guys come in and do their thing,” coach Carlos Mendoza said.
The Padres are one of the hottest teams in MLB, having won nine of their last 10 series.
However, it was their first losing streak since July 19th.
“I love the environment here,” Vientos said. “It’s very exciting. It’s a great ballclub and we have great pitchers on the mound. We’ve done our job and we’re going to keep going.”
Severino started off with an increased pitch count, struggled through the fifth inning, and finished the day after just five innings.
The right-hander allowed one earned run on five hits and four walks in that span.
This follows an outstanding performance from Severino last Saturday against the Marlins, in which he threw 113 pitches and became the first Mets pitcher since Jacob deGrom in 2021 to pitch a shutout.
“I didn’t feel tired,” Severino said. “I knew I’d be a little underwhelmed today because of the number of pitches I threw last time, but I feel good.”
Vientos’ double in the top of the first inning scored the first run of the game.
Francisco Lindor led off with a double, and Vientos smashed the next pitch from Cease into the left field corner.
Jose Iglesias’s double was a big hit for the Mets in the third inning, giving the Mets two runs to extend their lead to 3-0.
After Jesse Winker singled, Iglesias hit a ball that bounced on the warning track in deep left-center field and into the stands.
Winker was returned to third base, but Francisco Alvarez scored on a passed ball by Luis Campasuano while at home plate.
The third run came on a two-out infield single by Jeff McNeil.
Severino walked Jurickson Profar in the fifth inning, loading the bases with no outs, but got Jake Cronenworth into a double play after Iglesias jumped out to intercept a sharply hit grounder and Pete Alonso kept his foot on first base as he fell to catch a throw from Lindor.
“To me, that was the highlight of the game,” Mendoza said. “Seby was able to finish that inning and then our bullpen came in and did a great job.”
With the Mets loading the bases with no outs in the ninth inning, Vientos hit a two-run single against a tight infield to extend the lead to 5-1.
Alonso’s third single of the game added another run, then Winker tripled to bring one back, and Iglesias’ infield single extended the lead to 8-1.
Brazovan allowed two hits and two walks in the ninth inning before getting the final out.
