The San Diego Padres and New York Mets will wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday. First pitch from Citi Field is at 1:10 p.m. ET. The Padres are -120 moneyline favorites and the game total is 8.5 runs.
San Diego (6-5 SU and 6-5 RL) was held scoreless in the first game of the series. The Padres will start lefty Blake Snell (0-1 with a 7.88 ERA in two starts) in Wednesday's matinee.
New York (6-5 SU and 7-4 RL) scored five runs against Padres ace Yu Darvish to take game one. The Mets will give the ball to Tylor Megill (2-0 with a 1.64 ERA) tomorrow.
San Diego didn't get off to the start it hoped for in New York after taking three of four from Atlanta. The Padres are one of the most exciting teams in baseball but didn't have their usual fire in their fifth road game in five days. The visitors will be looking for a spark from Snell, who hasn't impressed in his first two starts.
The Padres score 4.55 runs per game (17th) and hit .229 (25th) with a .737 OPS (17th). They've hit 15 long balls (7th) and stolen six bases (17th). The San Diego pitching staff has a 4.33 ERA (13th) and a 1.36 WHIP (14th) with three quality starts.
45 balls and 43 strikes from Blake Snell tonight. 3 straight walks to end his outing pic.twitter.com/PtdOgvfZUh
— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) April 7, 2023
It's “Bump Day” for San Diego. Is the veteran left-hander past his prime? Snell's Padres tenure hasn't been what some hoped (15-17 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.29 WHIP). The 30-year-old was lights-out a few seasons ago, winning the Cy Young Award with a 21-5 record, 1.89 ERA, and 221 strikeouts in 2018. The new pitch clock has forced him to speed up, exacerbating his command issues, but there's no more time for excuses. With so much on the line in San Diego, Snell must prove he is a dependable player for the Friars.