Padres 5, Mets 3
SAN DIEGO -- Colin Rea flirted with the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history in stifling the New York Mets, 5-3, on Thursday night.
Rea (3-1), making his 12th major league start, kept the Mets hitless through 6 2/3 innings.
Yoenis Cespedes stroked a hard single through the infield's right side for the Mets' first hit. Second baseman Jemile Weeks was shifted on the bag's other side and wasn't close to making a play.
The string of 7,519 Padres games without a no-hitter continued. But it didn't diminish Rea's stunning performance against one top hitting teams in the major leagues. The right-hander allowed a run, three hits and a walk, with five strike outs, over eight-plus innings.
Rea allowed a one-out walk to David Wright in the first and then retired 19 in a row.
He had a pair of close calls as he flirted with baseball immortality against Curtis Granderson.
Centerfielder Jon Jay made a sliding catch of Granderson's line drive in left center in the third.
In sixth, Granderson smoked a grounder up the middle which was flagged down by shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who was shifted toward the first base side of second.
Granderson chased Rea with a home run to open the ninth. Cespedes then hit a two-run homer off reliever Brad Hand.
Fernando Rodney quickly recorded the final two outs for his seventh save.
Jacob DeGrom (3-1) saw his four-game winning streak, dating to last year, snapped as he was pulled after five innings. DeGrom, who was 7-0 over his last 10 road starts, surrendered three runs on eight hits and a walk.
Derek Norris greeted reliever Logan Verrett with his second homer of the year in the sixth, pushing the Padres lead to 4-0. For Norris, who entered the game hitting .138, it was his third hit and put him a triple shy of the cycle. Then Weeks scored on Jay's double and a throwing error by Michael Conforto.
The Padres scored in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead.
With one out in the first, Wil Myers redirected an 88 mph deGrom slider over the left field fence for his sixth homer on the year. That is only two fewer homers than Myers had all of last season.
Norris opened the second with a double to right, and he scored on Rea's base hit to center, the pitcher's first career RBI.
In the third, Brett Wallace reached on a walk and scored on Ramirez's two-out parachute double down the left field line. Some shoddy baserunning by Melvin Upton Jr., who overran third base and was erased, derailed a potential rally.
NOTES: Padres INFs Alexi Amarista (hamstring) and Yangervis Solarte (hamstring) continue to make progress and could soon be headed for rehab assignments. ... San Diego RHP Tyson Ross, out since his Opening Day start due to right shoulder inflammation, hasn't resume playing catch. .. Ted Williams and Ken Caminiti will be inducted posthumously into the Padres' Hall of Fame this summer. ... Mets LHP Josh Edgin (Tommy John surgery in March 2015) has yet to regain his velocity despite posting a 1.43 ERA through eight minor league rehab outings. There is no timetable for his return. ... Mets manager Terry Collins will return to Petco Park as the NL skipper for the All-Star Game on July 12.