San Diego returns home to Petco Park for the first time since July 13. With the Padres clinging onto a postseason spot, A.J. Preller will have to make difficult decisions by Thursday's trade deadline. Here's a look at what to expect against New York:
The Padres (57-49, 2nd in NL West) managed to split their four game set against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium over the weekend. After dropping the series' first two contests in disappointing fashion, the Friars emphatically beat the Redbirds 9-2 on Sunday, after a gutsy and fiery 3-1 victory on Saturday. Across the four games, the top of San Diego's lineup (Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez, Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill) combined for a ferocious 30-for-70 (.429 batting average) at the plate, including 10 extra-base hits and 11 RBIs. On the mound, they received great outings from from right-handers Randy Vásquez and Stephen Kolek in the two wins.
The Mets (62-44, 1st in NL East) completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants Sunday night at Oracle Park. Kodai Senga surrendered three runs over five innings of work, while the hot Metropolitan bats slashed a total of 12 hits. Brandon Nimmo's go-ahead two-run double in the ninth inning proved decisive, as skipper Carlos Mendoza used five different relievers to secure New York's 5-3 win. Reliever José Buttó earned his third victory of the season in the process.
Pitching matchups
Monday: Mets RHP Frankie Montas (3-1, 4.62 ERA) vs. Padres RHP Dylan Cease (3-10, 4.59 ERA) 6:40 p.m. PT
Veteran Frankie Montas makes his sixth start of the campaign in the series opener. Montas tossed 5 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels on July 22, giving up two earned runs while striking out six. He's gone at least five frames in four of his five outings so far.
Dylan Cease could possibly be making his last start in a Padres uniform, as the right-hander has been at the center of starting pitching trade rumors in recent days. The 29 year-old will hit free agency at season's end and might bring back a haul for San Diego. He's commanding much attention on the market despite his down season. He surrendered two runs on four hits against the Miami Marlins on July 23.
Tuesday: Mets LHP Sean Manaea (1-1, 2.19 ERA) vs. Padres TBD 6:40 p.m. PT
Former Padre Sean Manaea faces his former squad in game two. In his career against the Friars, he's 4-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 40 strikeouts. The lefty earned a victory over them in June, 2024 in a five inning, one-run effort.
Story will be updated once San Diego has announced a starting pitcher for Tuesday's game.
Wednesday: Mets RHP Clay Holmes (9-5, 3.40 ERA) vs Padres TBD 1:10 p.m. PT
Reliever turned starter Clay Holmes will close out the series for New York. Holmes has had a great first year as a Met by anchoring their staff to a first place position. He threw five innings and gave up one run against the Giants on Friday. He leads the club in wins, ranks third in strikeouts with 88, and is second in innings pitched with 113 2/3.
Story will be updated once San Diego has announced a starting pitcher for Wednesday's game.
Who's hot
Padres:
3B Manny Machado is coming off a career-high of 11 hits in a four-game series and has gone 13-for-21 while slashing .619/.652/.952 with a 1.605 OPS over the past five games. During the road trip he drove in a team-high 10 RBIs and cracked five doubles to go with a pair of home runs. 1B Luis Arraez had his magic wand working on the 10-game away stretch, leading the Friars with 16 hits and raising his battling average another 12 points up to .291 for the season. SS Xander Bogaerts slugged .500 over the extended road spell with four doubles and two round trippers as part of his 11 hits. He scored six times during the trip, only Arraez and RF Fernando Tatis Jr. (seven runs) touched home plate more.
Mets:
After dropping their first two out of the All Star break, the Mets have dashed off seven straight wins with back-to-back series sweeps of the Los Angeles Angels at home and the San Francisco Giants in the Bay Area. LF Brandon Nimmo has averaged an RBI per game over the winning streak, with two doubles and a home run as part of seven hits. C Francisco Alvarez is 6-for-17 with three walks during the streak, scoring a team-high six runs with four hits (two doubles, one triple, one home run) going for extra bases. Since returning from the 10-day IL on July 22, LF Starling Marte has made the most of his three appearances by going 6-for-10 with three doubles, two walks and a run scored.
Early takeaways
Just days away from the trade deadline, both San Diego and New York enter this series holding playoff spots. The Mets lead the Philadelphia Phillies by 1 1/2 games in the NL East, while the Padres hold a one game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Wild Card standings and trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by four games in the NL West. The clubs will certainly be aggressive in trying to make moves as they've both been linked to outfielders Jarren Duran and Luis Robert Jr. It also remains to be seen if A.J. Preller will deal right-handed starter Dylan Cease or closer Robert Suarez, whom are perhaps big deadline chips to fill other roster needs.
The Padres' offense showed signs of life over the weekend in St Louis. Hopefully for them, it's a sign of things to continue. The one caveat is this, regardless of whatever moves Preller is able to make, San Diego will not get far if their core of Tatis, Machado, Merrill, and Bogaerts under-performs. If the bats can get hot as reinforcements arrive, they'll be in much better position to catch lightning in a bottle for a second consecutive season.
Eric Evelhoch contributed to this article.