Mets Bury Padres Early, Hold On for 2-1 Win

New York did all its damage in the first inning and never looked back, beating San Diego 2-1 on Monday night. Walker Buehler was sharp — two hits allowed over six innings — but the Padres' offense couldn't bail him out when it mattered most.

The game was effectively decided before San Diego had time to blink. In the first inning, Bo Bichette singled to right, scoring Ewing and moving Lindor to third — the swing that pushed New York's win probability from 77% to 85%. The Mets weren't done. Luis Robert Jr. followed with a sacrifice fly to center, Lindor scored, and just like that it was 2-0 before the Padres had recorded a meaningful answer. Two runs, one inning, game on ice.

Buehler's night looks like the cruelest kind of loss on paper. He went 6.0 innings, gave up just 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4 — a performance that deserved better than a defeat. Nolan McLean, working the other side, was considerably shakier: 6.0 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, and 4 walks. The Mets' starter was living dangerously all night, but San Diego couldn't convert. Jake Cronenworth went 2-for-3 and was the most dangerous bat the Padres put up, yet the runs simply didn't follow. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 0-for-3 but did pull San Diego within one in the second inning with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Gavin Sheets. That's as close as it got.

After McLean exited, Daniel Duarte came on for New York and was immaculate — 1.0 inning, no hits, no walks, 2 strikeouts. On the San Diego side, Kyle Hart was arguably the most effective arm on the field all night: 2.0 innings, 3 hits allowed, zero earned runs, zero walks, 3 strikeouts. The story of the night, though, wasn't the bullpens — it was the Padres' inability to do anything with Cronenworth's production or Tatis Jr.'s presence in the lineup. San Diego stranded opportunity after opportunity against a starter who was clearly hittable, and that's the kind of missed chance that stings in August. The Mets took the 2-1 final and, frankly, it wasn't as close as the score suggests.