Padres pregame: Jose Iglesias starts again against Mets, Gavin Sheets dropped in order

Jose Iglesias, it’s been said, was the heart and soul of the Mets’ push into last year’s NLCS.

The impact in San Diego hasn’t been nearly as pronounced, but the 35-year-old is playing an integral role for the Padres.

No reason not to highlight that with his old friends in town.

The 35-year-old veteran is starting a second straight game against the Mets in Wednesday’s 1:10 p.m. start (Padres.TV). The Padres have won four in a row.

Iglesias scored a run off the bench in Monday’s win and went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday’s victory. The double led off the second inning and might have led to a big rally had the Padres not bunted into an out. He later singled to start the Padres’ five-run seventh inning.

Tuesday’s start was against left-hander Sean Manaea, pushing Manny Machado into the DH spot as Iglesias got the start at third base. There’s a right-hander on the mound on Wednesday in Clay Holmes, but the right-handed-hitting Iglesias is starting a second straight day anyway, this time at shortstop as Xander Bogaerts gets a DH game.

Iglesias is hitting .239/.300/.280 with 24 RBIs while providing regular highlight-reel plays on defense.

Last year, Iglesias hit .337/.381/.448 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 85 games for the Mets. He went on to hit .227/.261/.227 in 12 playoff games last fall.

https://x.com/Padres/status/1950605519573733836

Iglesias will hit seventh on Wednesday, ahead of Gavin Sheets returning to the lineup in the eight-hole, his lowest spot this year. Sheets is hitting .190/.264/.241 in 21 games in July and is hitting .105/.190/.105 in 10 games since returning from the All-Star break/paternity leave.

Sheets will play left field.

As for the Mets, they will be without Juan Soto in the series finale. Soto fouled a ball off his left foot Tuesday and ultimately exited the game with a contusion.

Without Soto in the lineup, Jeff McNeil will man right field and Tyrone Taylor will get the start in center.

Series finale. #LGM pic.twitter.com/Kw5jFpAufp

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 30, 2025

Wednesday’s pitching matchup

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.

Here is how Holmes has fared against current Padres:

Padres RHP Yu Darvish (0-3, 9.18 ERA)

Darvish is four starts into his return from the elbow injury that sidelined him to start the year. Darvish has thrown 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.

Here is how Darvish has fared against current Mets: