Mets at Padres
Given their propensity for hitting home runs recently, it seemed only a matter of time before the New York Mets started to flex their muscles again. Coming off a four-homer effort in their last time out, the Mets attempt to complete the first leg of their 11-game road trip on a high note and split a four-game series with the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
New York was limited to three runs on seven hits over the first two contests of this series, generating all of those runs in the ninth inning of the opener after it was unable to get a hit over the first 7 2/3 innings. The Mets returned to their homer-happy ways with four in a 6-3 victory Saturday, and lead the majors with 46 - including 44 over the last 21 games after opening the season with two home runs in its first eight outings. The Padres have still won six of nine despite their most recent setback and would like nothing more than to wrap up their seven-game homestand with another victory before opening a three-game series in Chicago against the red-hot Cubs on Monday. San Diego's pitching has been a key part of its recent success over its last nine contests, posting a 2.14 ERA and .186 batting average against despite Saturday's outcome.
TV: 4:40 p.m. ET, WPIX (New York), FSN San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Matt Harvey (2-4, 4.76 ERA) vs. Padres RH Andrew Cashner (2-2, 4.85)
Harvey continued to perform well below the standards he set over his first three seasons in Tuesday's loss to Atlanta, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings. The 2013 All-Star has logged a quality start only two times and failed to pitch into the seventh inning in six tries while permitting at least eight baserunners in every turn. Harvey has struck out 21 Padres over 18 frames in three outings against them, but is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts in San Diego.
Cashner notched his second victory in three outings Tuesday, overcoming a rocky first two innings to yield three runs on five hits and three walks across six frames at home versus Colorado. The 29-year-old TCU alum has yielded three earned runs or fewer in five straight trips to the mound since getting roughed up in his season debut, although he has logged six innings only three times over that span. Cashner is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA in eight appearances (three starts) versus New York, allowing the Mets to bat .292 against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Mets, who are 16-3 when scoring first, plated two runs in the first inning Saturday and have outscored their opponents 23-5 in the opening frame.
2. The Padres are 28-15 against the Mets at home since Petco Park opened in 2004, either winning or tying 13 of the 14 series played at the venue.
3. New York has scored 56.9 percent (74 of its 130 runs) via home run, including all six runs Saturday - the highest such percentage in the majors.