A late-inning Fernando Tatis Jr. grand slam unraveled the Mets’ chances at a sweep, as they fell to the Padres, 7-3, at Citi Field on Sunday.
Takeaways from the game
1) Jeurys Familia got into some trouble in the top of the seventh inning after pitching a solid sixth, and the bases were loaded with Tatis on deck and Jacob Barnes needing to relieve Familia. Well, Barnes’ 2-1 slider went over the left-center field wall to break the game wide open for San Diego, 6-2. And if that wasn’t enough, Manny Machado went back-to-back with his own solo shot to make it 7-2.
2) Joey Lucchesi gave the Mets his longest start of the season, lasting five innings and allowing just one run to his former team. That run was a Tommy Pham solo homer as the first batter of the game, belting one to deep center field. Other than that, Lucchesi only allowed three more hits after that and struck out six total Padres. Very promising start for the left-hander.
3) The Mets got to Chris Paddack in the bottom of the fifth inning when Jose Peraza blasted a high fastball over the left field fence to give New York the lead, 2-1.
4) Francisco Lindor continues his hot hitting of late, going 2-for-4 with a double – his eighth on the season. Pete Alonso also cashed in a hit in a 1-for-3 day.
5) The Mets would inch a tiny bit closer in the bottom of the eighth when Tomas Nido grounded to second base to allow Dom Smith to score.
6) Drew Smith had a solid two innings out of the ‘pen, finishing the eighth and ninth innings without allowing a run or hit while striking out two.