The New York Mets fell 7-4 to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night at Citi Field, undone by a rough start from David Peterson and a decisive swing from Manny Machado.
Peterson allowed a run in each of the first two innings before briefly finding a rhythm. His night unraveled in the fifth when he loaded the bases and Machado crushed a grand slam to left, leaving the left-hander with six runs charged on six hits and three walks over five innings.
New York’s offense leaned on power but couldn’t generate enough sustained pressure. Pete Alonso opened the scoring with a 112 mph solo blast, his third straight game with a homer. Starling Marte and Juan Soto also went deep, but all three shots were solo. Francisco Alvarez later trimmed the deficit with a ninth-inning homer, but closer Robert Suarez ended the rally with the tying run at the plate.
Dom Hamel made his Major League debut in relief, becoming the 46th pitcher used by the Mets this season, a new MLB record.
With the loss, the Mets’ wild-card cushion shrank to 1.5 games.
Box Score | NL Wild Card Standings
The Mets (78-74) look to bounce back and pick up their first series win in two weeks on Thursday when Jonah Tong makes his fourth big-league start at 1:10 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].