San Diego Padres at New York Mets

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SD	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
NYM	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	2	5	0

Walker Buehler and Nolan McLean squared off at Citi Field Monday, first pitch at 7:10 PM ET, and neither team's record going in — the Padres at 67-59, the Mets a scuffling 57-69 — hinted at how tight this one would actually play. Buehler's been a much better pitcher than his season-long line suggests, riding a stretch since June where he's trimmed his ERA down near 3. McLean, for his part, has quietly turned into one of the more reliable arms in the Mets' rotation, sitting at 3.34 with a record that undersells how good New York's been under interim skipper Andy Green.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Padres(67-59)

LWLWW

1

-1.5+186+113o8.5+135

Mets(57-69)

WWWWL

2

+1.5-190-115u8.5-135

Best BetPadres +113

Postgame

Buehler held serve with a strong outing, but McLean matched him and New York's bullpen shut the door on a 2-1 final. The pregame case leaned on Buehler's hot stretch, and he pitched well enough to win it — the Padres' offense was the problem, managing just 1 run despite out-hitting the Mets 7-5. Stranded traffic sank this one, not the arm.

Pregame

San Diego is playing its best stretch of the season, having taken 4 of its last 5 and 15 of 19 overall, and Buehler just turned in his best start in months. The Mets are competitive on any given night behind McLean, but this is still a last-place club without its best hitter. Backing the hotter, deeper team makes sense here.

New York's still missing its two best middle-of-the-order threats — Juan Soto working back from a left calf strain, Mark Vientos still building up after a hand issue — but Green has somehow kept the lineup scoring anyway. It's a strange bit of symmetry that Green himself managed the Padres from 2016 through 2019 before landing in Queens. San Diego, meanwhile, walked in banged up in a different way: its rotation is down Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta and Lucas Giolito, leaving Buehler as close to a true No. 1 as this staff has right now.

Walker Buehler

(7-6)·4.79 ERA

Aug 11 vs Brewers

W

6.0IP

1ER

5K

2BB

98P

08/17 Lineup

Nolan McLean

(9-8)·3.34 ERA

Aug 11 @ Braves

L

6.0IP

1ER

3K

2BB

85P

08/17 Lineup

The board treated this one as close to a coin flip as MLB gets, and the game backed that up — it came down to the final out. A wet first pitch gave way to a cleaner night by the middle innings, and neither offense ever really got comfortable at the plate.

Buehler and McLean both delivered exactly the kind of start their recent form promised. San Diego actually out-hit New York 7-5 on the night but couldn't turn that into more than a single run, while the Mets made their early runs hold up the rest of the way.

San Diego Padres

(8)

• 10-Day-ILMiguel Andujar (DH) — The Padres announced Monday that Andujar (wrist) has been cleared to begin a swing progression, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.08/17
• 10-Day-ILSamad Taylor (LF) — Taylor (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.08/17
• 15-Day-ILLucas Giolito (SP) — Giolito (elbow) has been throwing at the Padres' team complex in Arizona, but his timeline to return is unclear, MLB.com reports.08/10
• 60-Day-ILJason Adam (RP) — Adam (shoulder) played light catch from 90 feet Monday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.08/17
• 60-Day-ILJoe Musgrove (SP) — Musgrove (elbow) allowed five earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out five across 4.2 innings Friday in his rehab start with Triple-A El Paso.08/16
• 60-Day-ILNick Pivetta (SP) — Pivetta (forearm) threw off a mound Monday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.08/10
• 60-Day-ILRamon Laureano (LF) — Laureano underwent surgery Friday to repair his torn right labrum, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.06/05
• 60-Day-ILBryan Hoeing (RP) — The Padres transferred Hoeing (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.05/08

New York Mets

(8)

• 10-Day-ILJuan Soto (LF) — Soto (calf) did wind sprints on the field prior to Friday's game, and the superstar outfielder intends to play again this season, Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports.08/15
• 10-Day-ILMark Vientos (1B) — Mets interim manager Andy Green said Friday that Vientos (hand) has begun baseball activities, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.08/14
• 15-Day-ILDevin Williams (RP) — The Mets placed Williams on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a right shoulder strain.08/10
• 15-Day-ILCionel Perez (RP) — The Mets placed Perez on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left forearm strain.07/31
• 15-Day-ILAustin Warren (RP)
• 60-Day-ILJustin Hagenman (RP) — The Mets announced June 1 that Hagenman (rib) has yet to resume a throwing program, MLB.com reports.07/13
• 60-Day-ILReed Garrett (RP) — The Mets placed Garrett (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08
• 60-Day-ILTylor Megill (SP) — The Mets placed Megill (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.05/08

Both bullpens are operating short-handed, and it showed in how carefully each manager handled the middle innings. San Diego is still without Jason Adam, who's only just gotten back to playing catch from 90 feet, and New York is missing Devin Williams, Cionel Perez and Austin Warren — a big reason neither club wanted to lean on relief any more than it had to.

San Diego Padres

(67-59)

Aug 17L@ Mets1-2

Aug 16W@ Guardians5-0

Aug 15L@ Guardians1-6

Aug 14W@ Guardians7-5

Aug 12Wvs Brewers4-3

New York Mets

(57-69)

Aug 17Wvs Padres2-1

Aug 16Wvs Nationals4-3

Aug 15Wvs Nationals5-4

Aug 14Wvs Nationals4-1

Aug 12L@ Braves3-6

The result stretched New York's winning streak to 4 and left San Diego 0-1 in the set. For a Padres team leaning on a resurgent Buehler and a Mets club trying to prove its turnaround under Green is real, this one was a reminder both are live wires down to the last pitch.