The San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets 7-1 in Game One of the National League Wild Card Series Friday night at Citi Field. This result gives Padres 1-0 in the best of a streak of three serving as the opening round in the new MLB Extension structure.
Now for some takeaways from Game 1.
Bill arrived at Scherzer early
The Padres didn’t take long to do damage against Mets starter and co-ace Max Scherzer, hitting first baseman Josh Bell at the top of Homer’s first booming two-run hit into the opposite field:
That 95-mph fastball from Scherzer caught a lot of middle ground, and Bill didn’t miss it. That Homer left the bat at 107.8 mph and traveled 419 feet deep into the left center. That should have been a big moment for Bale, who has struggled so hard since coming into the Juan Soto movie before the trade deadline. With Padres in the regular season, Bale cut 0.12/.316/.271 by three home runs in just 53 games. This came on the heels of 103 very productive matches with the national team. Perhaps most troublingly, Bell saw his contract-quality metrics drop dramatically at the San Diego watch.
Well, there were no communication quality concerns about that above, and Bale is now the author of what might be Padres’ biggest home event of the season so far.
Then another group of Padres arrived at Scherzer
It wasn’t just Bell who took over Scherzer Square. So did Trent Gresham in second and Eurekson Provar in fifth. The next hitter after Provar, Manny Machado, became Padre’s fourth behind Homer off Scherzer in the first game, and this guy sent him to the bathrooms:
At that point, Trevor May came in, and Scherzer’s night was over: 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 4 SO, 0 BB, 4 HR. This comes to the 13.50 era of the game. This is only the second time in his career, playoffs or regular season, that he has allowed at least seven home runs and four home runs in a single game. As for the postseason itself, here it is:
That disastrous outing comes after Scherzer struggled on a crucial start against the Braves – four runs in nine strokes in 5 2/3 innings when the division title hangs in the balance. Maybe he’s not yet done his full tilt injury, or maybe he’s suddenly feeling his 38 years old, or maybe it’s just a cruel short-term randomness that can happen to anyone in baseball.
Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young winner and future number one poll, but he’s looked like nothing like that lately.
Darwish was excellent
While Scherzer had 1 game to forget, Darvish from Padres had one to remember. work for the night:
The Darvish kept the Mets lopsided with his usual staggering array of performances – he threw five different pitches on Friday, under his own cutter title. His speed ranged from 95.2 mph on a fastball to Francisco Lindor on the fifth to 66.9 mph on a curve to Eduardo Escobar in the same stroke. While the hit tally wasn’t what it usually was, tough contact eluded the Mets throughout the night. The only flaw came in a single house run by Escobar. It should also be noted that Darvish’s seven work roles meant a light night for the Padres’ revolts, particularly by post-season standards.
DeGrom then goes to New York
We already know that left-wing Blake Snell will start Game 2 for the Padres, but the Mets’ decision hinges on how Game 1 goes. If they win, the plan appears to be to rein in Jacob DeGrom in hopes that they can lock down the Padres in Game 2 and line up the deGrom for Game 1 of the NLDS. If they lose Game 1 to San Diego, Degrom will start Game 2, which will be a Mets elimination game. Well, the last scenario, as you now know, is what has been revealed, and DeGrom will actually go on Saturday against Snell and Padres. The Padres are now one win away from the match with the NL West-rival Dodgers in the NLDS.
Game two is scheduled to begin on Saturday at 7:37 p.m. ET.
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