The 7-0 Mets are starting to fulfill their potential in all categories including starting and relief pitching. This includes lefty Peterson, who has pitched well in his two games back from an extended visit to the minors. While not pitching past the fifth, he has allowed just a single run over ten innings in those two appearances. While the jury is still out, it appears he has re-found some of last year's form. He'll face another left hander, Blake Snell, who is 4-1 with an ERA of 0.64 in his last seven games, with two shutouts in his last three starts.
The Mets' bats, lead by Lindor and Pham are leading the league in slugging and OPS over the last seven games. The Padres are also hitting well, putting up 6.9 runs per game over their last seven games. The bullpens could be the difference today. With the length the Mets have been getting from their other starters, the pen is well rested and very sharp, with a minuscule ERA of 1.25 L3 games. Not so the Padres, whose bullpen has a hefty 7.88 ERA L10 games.
We saw the Padres lose badly to the Pirates in spite of 6 innings of 2 run pitching in Snell's second-last start. Look for the Padres to lead early based on Snell's fine pitching, but I do like the Mets to gain back ground in the later innings and keep this game close. Take NY on the run line at +1 1/2.