SAN DIEGO -- Adrian Gonzalez was back home but not sleeping in his own bed.
"I've moved to Los Angeles," the Mets' first baseman said. "But it's good to be close to the family and see my friends. It's always good to be in San Diego.''
Gonzalez, who wasn't in Friday's starting lineup against Padres left-hander Clayton Richard, made his mark in San Diego. He was born there and then he established himself as an All-Star with the Padres from 2006-10.
He's still a local, even if his address is some 100 miles north after playing for the Dodgers the past five-plus years. When curious members of the Mets' traveling party inquired about San Diego, Gonzalez suggested the best places to visit and which spot had the tastiest fish tacos.
The catch with Gonzalez? He's squaring up balls, but his .203 average says something else.
"I feel good,'' he said. "I've had two or three rough little nine and 10 at-bat stretches, and with the amount of at-bats, it makes it look different. But in those stretches if I've had hard-hit balls, [I've] had good at-bats.''

Gonzalez, who said his elbow and back injuries are in the past, warned not to get fooled by inflated numbers in either direction.
"A guy can get a bunch of bloops, bad hits, and guys will be saying he's having a great season,'' Gonzalez said. "But if you're hitting in bad luck, there are certain [statistics] now that show that. I know I am hitting the ball and doing the right things.''
Manager Mickey Callaway echoed Gonzalez's assessment.
"I totally agree with him,'' Callaway said. "Look at the exit velocity and all the things you look for that are going to give you success. They are all in line with what he was doing in 2015 when he was going good.''
The veteran Gonzalez is mindful of the calendar. He said the season's first month, for him, is about finding his swing rather than fretting over an average.
"April is a month of adjustments,'' he said. "You can get hot and then you can get cold. I'll have one game where I won't look like I know what I'm doing. And the next game it looks like I'm going off. It takes 150, 200 at-bats to get comfortable and know what you are going to do.''
Roster moves
Right-hander Jacob Rhame was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas and Corey Oswalt, another righty, was optioned to the same club. The Mets also claimed southpaw Buddy Baumann off waivers from the Padres and he'll be optioned to Las Vegas.
Rhame was up earlier with the club and recorded a save in four appearances, with a 7.36 ERA. Rhame came over to the Mets from the Dodgers in last summer's trade for Curtis Granderson.
Oswalt was sent down after working 4 2/3 innings of two-run relief on Wednesday.