Padres on deck: Mets visiting Petco ahead of trade deadline

New York Mets at San Diego Padres

• Monday: 6:40 p.m. (Padres.TV, MLBN)
• Tuesday: 6:40 p.m. (Padres.TV)
• Wednesday: 1:10 p.m. (Padres.TV)

In the standings

New York Mets (62-44, 1st in NL East)

The Mets have won seven in a row after sweeping the Giants in San Francisco to start their West Coast trip. New York is up 1½ games on the Phillies in the NL East. The Mets won five of seven last year against the Padres, including two of four at Petco Park.

San Diego Padres (57-49, 2nd in NL West)

The Padres went 5-5 on their first road trip after the All-Star break. That was still good enough to shave the Dodgers’ lead in the NL West to four games. San Diego is currently the No. 3 wild-card team in the NL, one game up on the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants are three games behind the Padres.

Trending

New York: The Mets rank eighth in the majors with a plus-55 run differential, ninth in OPS (.736), fourth in rotation ERA (3.39) and 10th in bullpen ERA (3.74). OF Juan Soto has five homers in July (.816 OPS) and OF Brandon Nimmo leads the team with 17 RBIs this month (.853 OPS). 1B Pete Alonso (.608 OPS) and SS Francisco Lindor (.664 OPS) are both struggling in July.

San Diego: The Padres are tied for 14th with a plus-20 run differential and they rank 23rd in OPS (.694), 15th in rotation ERA (3.99) and first in bullpen ERA (3.04). 3B Manny Machado collected 11 hits over the weekend in St. Louis, a career high for a four-game series, and leads the team with six homers, 19 RBIs and a .997 OPS in July. OF Fernando Tatis Jr. has a .910 OPS in 22 games in July, while DH Gavin Sheets has a .515 OPS this month.

Pitching matchups

Monday

Mets RHP Frankie Montas (3-1, 4.62 ERA)   |   The first-year Met has made two road starts (7.00 ERA) and three at home (3.31 ERA) since returning from the lat injury that sidelined him until late June. He has yet to complete six innings or throw more than 91 pitches. Montas has a 3.86 ERA in three career starts against the Padres, including allowing four runs in six innings in a no-decision last year.

Padres RHP Dylan Cease (3-10, 4.59 ERA)   |   A 4.59 ERA would be his worst since his rookie season in 2019 (5.79) if the season ended today. Cease has a 15-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ration in two starts (10⅓ IP) since the All-Star break. He has a 6.88 ERA in three career starts against the Mets, which includes allowing nine earned runs in 10 innings in two starts last year.

Tuesday

Mets LHP Sean Manaea (1-1, 2.19 ERA)   |   He’s making his third appearance since returning from the elbow/oblique injuries that shelved him until mid-July. Manaea hasn’t allowed more than a run in any appearance, has 18 strikeouts against four walks in 12⅓ innings and has progressed from 3⅓ innings in relief to four and then five innings in starts. He threw 82 pitches in his last start. Manaea has a 3.63 ERA in 39⅔ innings against the Padres. He beat them with one run in five innings last year.

Padres TBA   |   RHP Ryan Bergert could be called up to make this start as he did not start on Sunday for Triple-A El Paso. The Padres announced TBAs for Tuesday and Wednesday as it appears they might be looking to give RHP Yu Darvish (0-3, 9.18 ERA)  an extra day of rest. Darvish is four starts into his return from the elbow injury that sidelined him to start the year. Darvish has throw 69 pitches in each of his last two starts after hitting 83 in his second start. He has 11 strikeouts against nine walks. Darvish is 5-1 with a 3.23 ERA in 10 regular-season starts against the Mets, but he allowed eight runs in 11⅓ innings in two starts last year.

Wednesday

Mets RHP Clay Holmes (9-5, 3.40 ERA)   |   The converted reliever has thrown 113 ⅔ innings in his first year in a rotation, nearly double last year’s total (63 IP). He’s sporting an 88-to-44 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has been a tad better on the road (3.32 ERA) than he has at home (3.49 ERA). He has allowed three runs in eight relief innings against the Padres, including a scoreless inning out of the Yankees’ bullen last year.

Padres TBA   |   If Darvish is not available for this start, RHP Nick Pivetta (10-3, 2.81 ERA) would be on regular rest. His hit rate (6.5 per nine innings) is the best of his career, as is his home run rate (1.0 per nine innings). Pivetta has completed at least six innings in five of his last six starts (0.96 ERA). He has a 5.23 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) against the Mets. He last faced them in 2023, throwing a scoreless inning out of Boston’s bullpen.

Team leaders

• OPS: Mets—OF Juan Soto (.883), 1B Pete Alonso (.861), OF Brandon Nimmo (.787); Padres—3B Manny Machado (.866), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.816), DH Gavin Sheets (.728).
• HRs: Mets—Soto (25), Alonso (22), SS Francisco Lindor (20); Padres—Machado (19), Tatis (17), Sheets (14).
• RBIs: Mets—Alonso (81), Soto (62), Nimmo (60); Padres—Machado (66), Sheets (52), Tatis (44).
• Steals: Mets—Lindor (17), Soto (14), 2B Luisangel Acuña (12), Nimmo (12); Padres—Tatis (22), SS Xander Bogaerts (16), Machado (8).
• Saves: Mets—RHP Edwin Díaz (23-for-25, 1.48 ERA); Padres—RHP Robert Suarez (30-for-33, 3.38 ERA).
• Holds: Mets—RHP Reed Garrett (20, 2.79 ERA), RHP Huascar Brazoban (11, 3.71 ERA), RHP Ryne Stanek (8, 4.04 ERA); Padres—RHP Jason Adam (25, 1.97 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (21, 2.66 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (14, 1.72 ERA).

Training room

New York: RHP Paul Blackburn (shoulder) could return to the pitching staff as soon as this weekend, while OF Jesse Winker (back), LHP Brandon Waddell (hip) and RHP Tylor Megill (elbow) could return in August. OF Jose Siri (tibia) is still hoping for a second-half return, but he has yet to start a running program.

San Diego: RHP Michael King will face live hitters on Monday for the first time since he was shut down in May with the issue with his long thoracic nerve. The Padres are shooting for King to return to the rotation in August.