Padres at Mets
The New York Mets and San Diego Padres are vying for the dubious honor of owning the worst record in the National League this week, but only one of their four meetings have reflected how close each one is to the other in the win-loss column. The Padres look to guarantee themselves their first series victory since June 11-13 on Tuesday when they visit the Mets for the second of a three-game series between NL cellar-dwellers.
San Diego (42-61) took two of three from St. Louis last month but is 0-9-1 in series play since, leaving the club with the worst record in the NL. The Padres took their first step towards correcting that problem with Monday's 3-2 victory over the Mets (40-57), who haven’t won any of their last 17 series dating back to a sweep of Arizona from May 18-20. The opener marked the first time this season the teams played a game against each other decided by fewer than four runs, yet the Padres were able to even up the season series despite scoring three runs or fewer in three of the meetings. The Mets gifted San Diego all of its runs Monday, including Amed Rosario's misplayed grounder in the sixth inning that allowed the eventual game-winning run to score.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS San Diego, SNY (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Eric Lauer (5-6, 4.87 ERA) vs. Mets RH Zack Wheeler (3-6, 4.44)
Lauer's eight-game streak of holding the opposition to three earned runs or fewer came to an end in his last start of the first half against the Chicago Cubs on July 15 after he surrendered five runs and recorded only six outs. Prior to that poor performance, the 23-year-old rookie won four of his six previous decisions while posting a 2.33 ERA. Lauer is allowing opponents to bat .310 against him through 16 major-league outings entering his first career start versus the Mets.
Wheeler is unbeaten in his last four starts, but he received some uncharacteristic help from his offense in a July 14 win against Washington after giving up four runs across 7 2/3 frames. The Georgia native has limited the opposition to two earned runs or fewer in half of his 18 outings and struck out at least seven in five of his last six turns. Wheeler fanned nine in a win at San Diego on April 29, allowing two runs over five innings to improve to 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in four starts against the Padres.
WALK-OFFS
1. Padres SS Freddy Galvis has scored 33 runs against New York since the start of the 2015 season, good for the fourth-most for any player versus the Mets over that span.
2. Mets OF Brandon Nimmo was hit by a pitch for the third time in two games and 16th time this season Monday, extending his own single-season club record.
3. San Diego INF Carlos Asuaje went 0-for-4 in the opener to end a seven-game hitting streak in starts, although he is still batting .313 in July.