{"id":266465,"date":"2021-06-04T10:06:32","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T07:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/note-to-mets-nl-goes-through-california\/"},"modified":"2021-06-04T10:06:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T07:06:32","slug":"note-to-mets-nl-goes-through-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/note-to-mets-nl-goes-through-california\/","title":{"rendered":"#Note to Mets: NL goes through California"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Note to Mets: NL goes through California<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s one thing to watch highlights, to read the standings, to hear the chatter.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something else to digest firsthand that, while you rule your neighborhood, you\u2019ve got much to do before taking over your town.<\/p>\n

The National League clearly goes through the state of California. And Fernando Tatis Jr. might just be the sheriff of the whole operation.<\/p>\n

The Mets\u2019 first visit to Pacific Coast time since 2019 resulted in a 4-3 loss to Tatis and the Padres Thursday night at Petco Park, and as the final score indicated, the NL East leaders hardly embarrassed themselves, putting the tying and lead runs on base in the ninth inning before San Diego closer Mark Melancon ended the game<\/a> on a Kevin Pillar double play.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the talent gap between these two clubs can be reflected in the record gap, and then there\u2019s the sobering reality that, while the Mets top their division comfortably at 27-22, the impressive Padres, 35-23, trail the surprising Giants (35-21) and are just edging the defending champion Dodgers (33-23) in the ultra-competitive NL West. There\u2019s some major competition out in those parts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very talented,\u201d Luis Rojas said of the Padres, and then the Mets\u2019 manager pointed out that neither Eric Hosmer nor Tommy Pham played: \u201cThey\u2019re missing a couple of guys in their lineup, too, and they\u2019re still talented.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fernando
Fernando Tatis Jr. is congratulated by teammates after belting a two run homer in the third inning of the Mets\u2019 4-3 loss to the Padres. <\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s hard to envision an October scenario in which the Mets wouldn\u2019t need to upend at least one, and quite possibly two, of these Golden State dynamos. A quirk of their schedule enabled them to play the NL West\u2019s two punching bags, the Rockies and Diamondbacks, a total of 13 times, during which they went 10-3, before engaging with the elite group. So Thursday night served as a de facto graduation to the next level.<\/p>\n

And again: They held their own. Rojas faced many tough managerial calls in this one, and I didn\u2019t think he whiffed on any of them, given the fatigue level of his bullpen and that Jonathan Villar (right hamstring) wasn\u2019t available. Maybe a different move would have proven the difference. But these Padres are really tough, and Tatis Jr. is a force of nature.<\/p>\n

The shortstop put the home team on the scoreboard first with his two-run, third-inning homer off Mets starter Taijuan Walker, Mets fill-in center fielder Mason Williams leaping over the wall and grasping the ball, only to see it pop out of his glove, over the wall. Then, in the fifth inning, Tatis legged out an infield single, moved onto second and third and hustled home on a Walker wild pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s maybe a handful of guys who would take that chance, and less that would be safe,\u201d Walker said of Tatis bolting home. \u201cThem getting that extra run won them the game today.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got weapons to beat you in different areas of the game, and we saw a couple of them,\u201d Rojas said.<\/p>\n