NEW YORK -- The Padres rotated wins and losses across their six-game road trip through Cleveland and New York over the past week, culminating with a 4-2 loss to the Mets on Wednesday afternoon.
Here’s some instant reaction from Citi Field:
A disappointing finale
The Padres have been one of the hottest teams in baseball recently. They’re 18-7 over the past four weeks. More than that, the quality of baseball has been so drastically improved from what it was during the first half.
Still, this was a disappointing way to finish their road trip. The Padres mustered just two hits off Mets starter Robert Stock (who broke through with San Diego in 2018). They consistently created traffic, but couldn’t cash in.
With the loss, the Padres’ lead for the final National League Wild Card spot sits at 1 1/2 games, with Arizona set for a late-afternoon game in Boston on Wednesday.
The rotation finds its groove
In the two months leading up to the Trade Deadline, Padres starters turned in a grand total of six quality starts. Five of them came from Michael King. It was abundantly clear what this roster needed at the Deadline. And, in Robbie Ray and Casey Mize, the Padres got what they needed.
King remains his usual quality self. He pitched 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball, allowing only Carson Benge’s opposite-field two-run homer in the fourth. The difference now is that the rest of the Padres rotation is filling in nicely around him. They’ve played 16 games since the Deadline and gotten nine quality starts.
Mize, Walker Buehler, Ray and King combined for four straight quality starts to finish the road trip -- the first time the Padres have gotten that since May 2025.
Tatis has a cannon, too
Sheesh, how about the outfield defense in New York this week?
First, the Mets threw out three different Padres at the plate in the first two innings on Monday. Then, Fernando Tatis Jr. robbed Francisco Lindor of a grand slam on Tuesday.
This time, Tatis showed off his arm strength, with a perfect throw from right field to cut down Francisco Alvarez at the plate, keeping the game within reach in the seventh inning. The Mets challenged, but Alvarez’s fingertips just missed the plate after a creative slide.
Tatis doesn’t get many outfield-assist opportunities anymore. The rest of the league knows better. But when he gets a chance, Tatis usually makes the most of it. This was his third outfield assist of the year.