The New York Mets Embark on a Very Challenging Series

There is no rest for New York. Following the Mets’ exciting walkoff win, they had to get directly on the plane and head west.

New York is in for another tough series, against the red hot Padres. The Padres are 22-8 in their last thirty games. They are playing amazing baseball. It requires a full team effort to be that successful over a long stretch and that is exactly what San Diego have had.

In the thirty game stretch, San Diego has the lowest FIP in MLB. Their starting pitching has been excellent.

The Padres lineup has soared too. Jurickson Profar is having a career year. Jackson Merrill has had a very strong rookie season. Merrill hits for power and contact and plays an excellent center field. His great stretch has moved him close to having the best odds to win the National League Rookie of the Year award.

The Padres ran into the Mets at the wrong time when they came to New York in June. It was two days after Grimace threw out the first pitch. The Mets were destroying the ball and the Padres fell victim.

The Mets swept the Padres, finishing the series with an 11 run explosion in which they lit up Dylan Cease for seven earned runs in 3⅔ innings.

New York will face Cease in game one of this series. Cease has been excellent since his disastrous outing against the Mets. Since June 16th, Cease has a 2.77 ERA in 11 starts. In that span, Cease had a three start stretch when he gave up only 2 hits in 22 innings.

It will not get any easier for New York after Cease. New York will face quality starting pitching throughout the series.

San Diego also has an excellent bullpen. Their pen was improved at the trade deadline, when the Padres traded for Jason Adam, Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing. The three of them have given up only 5 runs in 30 innings.

New York are currently 5.5 games back of the Padres. The Mets, of course, would love to catch the Padres but, right now, their main focus is on catching the Atlanta Braves. The Mets cannot go into San Diego and lose 3 out of four. The Mets will look to keep the momentum going from two exciting wins and have a successful road trip.