The Mets’ lead, which at one point was up by six, was now down to just one.
With the Padres trailing by four in the top of the eighth, tension began to build at Citi Field as Edwin Diaz warmed up in the bullpen.
But after four pitches, he let out a sigh of relief.
At the start of the bottom of the eighth, Luis Torrens caught a 2-1, 98 mph fastball from fastball pitcher Jeremiah Estrada and launched it 403 feet to center field, just past the wall for his third home run of the season and a valuable extra run.
“It was big,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of his catcher’s swing after the team’s 11-6 win over the Padres. “The moment he hit the ball, you could feel the reaction of the guys in the dugout.”
“That gave us a two-run lead, but it kind of killed any momentum they had going into the ninth.”
The Mets added three more runs from there on four hits and a walk, but Torrens hit to start the inning.
Just eight games into his tenure with the Mets, Torrens has been phenomenal.
After going 2-for-4 on the day, his OPS rose to 1.148, ranking him behind only John Buck (1.244) and Todd Pratt (1.163) among Mets catchers through their first eight games with the team.
The Mets acquired 28-year-old Omar Narvaez from the Yankees system in a trade on May 31 that resulted in Narvaez becoming a designated player.
Torrence has also been much better defensively, with four extra-base hits in eight games, while Narvaez has two in 28 games.
Torrence’s emergence forced the Mets to DFA Tomas Nido upon the return of Francisco Alvarez.
Torrens has been great, but an incident in the ninth inning reminded him just how new he is to the Mets.
Mendoza said Alvarez was substituted in as catcher for the final inning in case Diaz was called upon to pitch.
Torrens has yet to catch a closer.
Mendoza said pitcher Kodai Senga felt good after throwing 30-35 pitches in a bullpen session on Saturday.
The right-hander, who has yet to make his debut this season because of shoulder tightness and several setbacks, is scheduled to throw his fourth bullpen session on Wednesday.
“Hopefully,” Mendoza said, the next step will be facing hitters.
About three hours before the first pitch, Mendoza was playing catch on the field with his sons, Adrian and Andres.
It was a wonderful Father’s Day for the first major league manager.
“It means a lot. It’s a privilege,” Mendoza said. “Now that my kids are old enough to be well-behaved, I’m really blessed to have the opportunity to come to work and spend time with them.”
“But it’s something special, something I’ll never forget.”
Padres star Manny Machado and manager Mike Shildt were ejected in the sixth inning.
Machado protested a strike three call, slammed his bat on the ground, said something to home plate umpire Adam Beck and was ejected.
Machado then got in Beck’s face and argued until Shildt took over, but then connected with a hook from Shildt.
Harrison Bader (2-for-4, 1 RBI, double, 1 stolen base) has seven extra-base hits and 13 RBIs in his last 17 games.
