The San Diego Padres are 9-4 since the trade deadline, when general manager AJ Preller made two moves for his rotation. He acquired Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants and Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers.
That run has moved San Diego into a tie for the second and third National League wild-card spots. They are tied with the Philadelphia Phillies, with the Arizona Diamondbacks one game back.
Things are setting up for the stretch run over the final six weeks. The Padres took two out of three from the Cleveland Guardians over the weekend in Ohio. Now, they head to New York for a three-game series against the last-place Mets. San Diego has announced the starters for what is now a huge series.
San Diego Padres Announce Starters for New York Mets Series
It has been a tough season in Queens for the Mets. However, they will enter the series coming off a sweep of the Washington Nationals at home. Stuck in the basement of the NL East, New York is 13 games below .500. Here are the pitching matchups for the series.
- Monday: Walker Buehler (7-5, 4.88 ERA) vs. Nolan McLean (8-8, 3.42 ERA), 7:10 p.m.
- Tuesday: Robbie Ray (10-7, 3.28 ERA) vs. TBD, 7:10 p.m.
- Wednesday: Michael King (8-8, 3.41 ERA) vs. TBD, 1:10 p.m.
San Diego will send three of their top arms to the mound as they look to win another series. Buehler has a 3.14 ERA in August in three starts in 14.1 innings. He worked six innings allowing three hits and one run against the Milwaukee Brewers on August 11. Buehler has been good for manager Craig Stammen.
In his first two starts since the trade from San Francisco, Ray has allowed six earned runs in nine innings with an ERA of 6.00 in starts against the Houston Astros and Brewers. San Diego has split those games.
King re-signed with the Padres last winter after testing free agency. He was linked to a trio of American League teams, the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees, but he returned to Southern California. King has been a workhorse this season, already working 142.1 innings with 125 strikeouts.
San Diego Padres Need To Win Series Over New York Mets
San Diego began a stretch of a favorable schedule by winning a series in Cleveland. Now, they face the last-place Mets before returning home to host the Minnesota Twins and the banged-up Pittsburgh Pirates. However, Pittsburgh just took two out of three from the Red Sox.
The Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals are within striking distance of San Diego and Philadelphia for the final two wild-card spots. However, it feels like the final spot will come down to the Phillies, Padres, and Diamondbacks, three teams for two spots. That’s where winning series like this is crucial for San Diego.
If there were any questions as to whether or not the Padres were for real since the turnaround, they swept the Brewers at home last week. They then swept the slumping Guardians. Now, winning a series over a Mets team that has underachieved all season long is a must for Stammen’s team this week in the Big Apple.
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