Mets’ take series opener against Padres after 10th inning outburst gives them 6th straight win

SAN DIEGO — After five games of stellar pitching, timely hitting and clean defense, the Mets went to San Diego and wobbled and bobbled their way through the first nine innings. The 10th, however, was a different story.

Facing the Padres in the final series before the All-Star Break, the Mets showed resolve by tying the game in the fifth inning after a rocky start, then finishing the job with a four-run 10th inning to win 7-5 on Friday night at Petco Park.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win, and it was the Mets’ sixth in a row, a new season-high.

Facing left-hander Tom Cosgrove (1-2) in the 10th, Jeff McNeil, who has struggled all season but even more in recent weeks, drilled a double down the line to lead off the inning and score the ghost runner. Francisco Alvarez then scored McNeil with a single to the right-center gap to give the Mets an important insurance run. The Mets (42-46) went on to score two more, a gritty turnaround after Starling Marte grounded into a 1-2-3 inning-ending double play to strand the bases loaded in the ninth.

Those insurance runs proved key when David Robertson gave up a two-run blast to Manny Machado in the bottom of the 10th. He retired the next two to earn his 14th save of the season.

Daniel Vogelbach went 3-for-4 with two infield singles and a game-tying RBI single, Alvarez continued his hot streak with a four-hit night and Francisco Lindor went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a home run.

Lindor’s 19th homer of the season off of Yu Darvish in the top of the third to cut the Padres’ lead to 3-2. Darvish pitched well enough but didn’t last long allowed three earned on seven hits, walked three and struck out four for San Diego (41-47).

It wasn’t the most efficient or dominant start for right-hander Justin Verlander. He faced heavy traffic and needed more than 50 pitches to get through three innings. But Verlander got better as the game went on and managed to go six innings, keeping the Padres to three earned runs on five hits, three walks and two strikeouts.

Verlander got out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the Mets in the game in the third and they repaid him by pushing one across the plate in the fifth. The veteran right-hander found his stride as the game went on and had an easy fourth. After the fifth, he was at 90 pitches and the Mets sent him back out for the sixth despite having a rested bullpen. The decision paid off: Verlander retired the side in order.

Brooks Raley got a huge boost from left fielder Tommy Pham in the seventh, when goaded Ha-Seong Kim into trying to stretch a double into a triple and threw an absolute bullet to Luis Guillorme at third base to get the out. After giving up a double to Juan Soto, the Mets went to Adam Ottavino and he got Fernando Tatis to line out to center field.

But the San Diego bullpen did its job effectively as well. The Padres used four relievers to keep the game tied until the 10th. Only Alvarez managed to get a hit off of any of them until Lindor took a single off Martinez in the ninth.

The Mets’ five-game winning streak showed the team what they’re capable of when they play efficient baseball. This win showed what they’re capable of when they get out of their own way.

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