Mets shutout Padres behind solid outing from Christian Scott
· Yahoo Sports
Too often this season, the New York Mets have been the slumping team that opponents are looking to beat up on. Those roles were reversed Friday night in a 5-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
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San Diego has now lost 10 of its last 11 games, while the Mets have won six of their last eight, thanks in large part to New York’s starting pitcher Christian Scott. The Florida product pitched five 2/3 shutout innings against a Padres lineup that is last in baseball in runs scored. Jared Young and Luis Torrens each hit home runs to lead the Mets’ offense.
Scott allowed a base runner in each of the first three innings but was able to keep San Diego off the board. Fernando Tatis Jr. singled in the first, Ty France singled in the second, and Rodolfo Durán walked in the third. All three Padres were stranded as Scott appeared to settle in as the game went on.
Scott retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings, then ran into a bit of trouble in the sixth. He walked Durán before striking out Tatis Jr. and getting a popout from Gavin Sheets. Manny Machado singled to center, advancing Durán to third base and ending Scott’s night at 98 pitches. Huascar Brazobán entered in relief and struck out France, ending the threat and securing Scott’s shutout appearance. Scott, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, has allowed just one run across his last three starts.
Brazobán, Luke Weaver, and A.J Minter were solid out of the bullpen for the Mets, combining with Scott for the team’s third shutout win of the season.
Young started things for New York’s offense with a solo home run off San Diego starting pitcher Michael King to lead off the second inning. Young worked a full count before hitting King’s center-cut changup 422 feet. That’s Young’s third home run in his last six games.
The Mets were back for more in the third inning with multiple extra-base hits and another run scored. Torrens doubled off the wall before advancing to third base on a flyout from Carson Benge. Bo Bichette tripled to the right-field corner to score Torrens. Tatis Jr. fumbled the ball in the corner, and Bichette’s good read allowed him to easily get to third. The Mets could have added another run when Juan Soto grounded the ball to second baseman Sung-Mun Song, who didn’t field the ball cleanly. Soto put his head down in frustration before realizing Song’s mistake had given him a chance to beat out the throw, score Bichette, and keep the inning going. None of that happened as New York settled for the 2-0 early lead.
New York went up 4-0 with Torrens’ two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning. Brett Baty reached on a single before Torrens took King deep to centerfield. The homer was Torrens’ first of the season.
Bichette added a double with two outs in the eighth inning, but Padres reliever David Morgan struck out Soto to strand him. Bichette is showing signs of awakening from his season-long slumber with six hits combined in his last two games. He had six hits in the nine games previous to his current outburst. Soto finished hitless for the 11th time in 46 games played this season.
The Mets tacked on in the ninth inning against San Diego’s closer, Mason Miller, who was only in the game to get his first work in a week due to the Padres skid. AJ Ewing knocked a one-out single, then stole second and third base. Baty brought him home with an RBI single.
Saturday’s game (10:10 PM ET) sets up nicely for New York. The Mets have Nolan McLean on the mound going against former Met Griffin Canning, who has a 0-4 record and a 7.16 ERA through six appearances this season.
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Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: Christian Scott +25% WPA
Big Mets loser: Carson Benge, Marcus Semien -6% WPA
Mets pitchers: +34% WPA
Mets hitters: +16% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Luis Torrens home run in the fifth, +13.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Marcus Semien grounds into double play in the fourth, -3.8% WPA