Padres

Craig Stammen was told night before season finale he would not be on wild card roster, went out and helped preserved other pitchers.

“And even before we clinched the playoffs, I was looking at the Giants too.” Always a student of the game, this year he has taken his study to new levels. He still was dominant much of the year, posting a 2.29 ERA a 0.91 WHIP in 145 1/3 innings. “If we can do that as a team, we’ll be in a good place.” “I was holding back some tears earlier (Wednesday, in the) morning,” Stammen said. In fact, some talked about wanting to make sure they made the postseason so he could experience it with the team he has helped so much. The 38-year-old reliever threw 69 pitches in three innings in that game against the Giants, as he was asked to go as long as he could to help preserve the rest of the staff. And I get to put on a hat and a hoodie that says ‘Postseason.’ It feels pretty damn good to go into a clubhouse and smell the new gear that you get. Stammen has pitched more innings (394 1/3) than any reliever in the majors since 2017, the beginning of his time with the Padres. It was the most pitches he had thrown in a game since 2010, and the workload precluded him from pitching in the wild card series. Every sport’s postseason is “win or go home.” But the contrast between the baseball regular season and postseason is just such a dichotomy. In 2005 and ’06 they were seen as merely the team the Cardinals had to get past in the first round.

Max Scherzer's disastrous outing leaves the Mets one loss away from elimination in a best-of-three wild-card series.

He handed the ball to Showalter and dejectedly walked toward the Mets dugout. But going along with the theme of the night, his teammates failed to drive him in. The Mets’ All-Star outfielder Starling Marte tried his best to provide a boost in his return from a fractured finger that had kept him out since Sept. As Mets Manager Buck Showalter ambled toward the mound, Scherzer kicked the pitching rubber and flipped the ball into his glove. With Profar on base after a single in the first inning, Bell clobbered a Scherzer fastball over the plate into the left field seats for a two-run home run. They were tied for 15th (out of 30 teams) in home runs during the regular season, meaning a comeback wasn’t as likely to happen quickly or forcefully. And as he trudged off the mound in the fifth inning, Scherzer was showered with boos from the sellout crowd of 41,621 fans at Citi Field. And in the clubhouse, he helped change the Mets’ culture and became one of the key leaders that guided them to their first playoff appearance since 2016. “I missed half of the year, and these guys did a great job,” said deGrom, who dealt with a shoulder injury earlier this year and recently overcame a small blister on his throwing hand. And in this year’s new postseason format, that meant hosting the second wild-card team, the 89-win Padres. He was the biggest signing in the second year of owner Steven A. Cohen’s overhaul of a franchise that had endured more than its fair share of headaches and losses over the years.

The Padres won 89 games, qualifying for the playoffs in a 162-game season for the first time since 2006. Even in the absence of Fernando Tatis Jr., ...

While he passed a COVID-19 test yesterday and traveled to Queens, the club will keep him off the roster for this set. There was never much doubt about the rest of the Friars position players being part of the club. Darvish and Snell will get the ball for the first two games, with Musgrove seeming all but assured to start a Game 3 if that proves necessary. San Diego doubled down with arguably the biggest deadline blockbuster in MLB history, one they hope can help propel past a 101-win Mets team on the road. Even in the absence of The rest of San Diego’s roster decisions are fairly straightforward. Soto and Bell were brought in from the Nationals in a huge deadline swap, while San Diego also added Drury and Hader in separate deals at the start of August. [Mike Clevinger](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clevimi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral) for the first series. There aren’t many surprises on the Padres roster. [Tim Hill](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hillti01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral) [Sean Manaea](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/manaese01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral) [Adrian Morejon](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/morejad01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral) [Blake Snell](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/snellbl01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)(Game 2 starter) [Fernando Tatis Jr.](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tatisfe02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral), who didn’t play this year on account of a wrist fracture and subsequent PED suspension, the Friars boast a star-studded roster. The Padres won 89 games, qualifying for the playoffs in a 162-game season for the first time since 2006.

The Mets were crushed in Game 1 at home and now must win two straight games to keep their season alive.

If they won, the plan seemed to be to hold back ace Jacob deGrom in the hopes that they could close out the Padres in Game 2 and line up deGrom for Game 1 of the NLDS. If they lost Game 1 to San Diego, then deGrom would start Game 2, which would be an elimination game for the Mets. This disaster outing comes just after Scherzer struggled in a crucial start against the Braves – four runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings when the division title hung in the balance. That comes to a 13.50 ERA for the game. That had to be a huge moment for Bell, who's struggled badly since coming over in the Juan Soto blockbuster just prior to the trade deadline. The San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets by a score of 7-1 in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Friday night at Citi Field.

The San Diego Padres host the New York Mets in Game 1 of this NL wild card series on ESPN.

[](https://www.directv.com/) PT/7:37 p.m. [How to watch DAZN on your TV: What is it, what does it cost and include? You can also get this game on [Sling TV](https://www.sling.com/) (promotional offers) if you are out of fuboTV trials, or simply prefer those platforms and their pricing plans. PT/8:07 p.m. • *Game 3: Padres @ Mets, 4:37 p.m. Game 2: Padres @ Mets, 4:37 p.m. Mets game live for FREE with fuboTV ](https://www.fubo.tv/lp/mlb/?irad=377812&irmp=1810043)(free trial), or sign up with [DirecTV Stream](https://www.directv.com/stream/) (CHOICE Package free trial). Game 1: Padres @ Mets, 5:07 p.m. The San Diego Padres host the New York Mets in Game 1 of this NL wild card series as the 2022 MLB playoffs get underway on Friday, October 7 at 5:07 p.m. You can also follow along with the latest live updates, and see more streaming options below.

A mural inside R Place Sports Bar & Grill near Petco Park downtown, Oct 7, 2022. The San Diego Padres start their playoff journey against the New York Mets ...

The Padres play Friday, Saturday and potentially on Sunday against the New York Mets. Just around the corner from Flores’ business is The Blind Burro, a restaurant and bar. With the Padres working towards the playoffs it's been like a fever," said Juan Carlos Flores, owner of R Place Sports Bar & Grill.