Monday night’s series opener between the Mets (62-45) and Padres (58-49) had the atmosphere of a playoff game you wouldn’t expect from a game in late July. An ejected manager, a home run robbery, a grand slam, an erased four-run lead, a game-tying home run in the ninth, and a walk-off hit were all part of the equation as the Padres beat the Mets 7-6.

The beginning of the game was defined by the starters’ elevated pitch counts and the lack of production with runners on base. Both Frankie Montas and Dylan Cease threw a ton of pitches and created traffic on the basepaths, but they were both able to limit the opposition to just one run each through the first four innings. In that span, both pitchers left five runners stranded.

A pivotal moment in the game occurred at the top of the third inning, when the home plate umpire made two questionable strike calls on Juan Soto, who struck out looking. Soto was incensed, and to save him from being ejected, Carlos Mendoza sacrificed himself and got himself booted from the game. It was Mendoza’s third ejection of the season, and it caused him to miss the rest of what turned into a crazy game.

Just an inning later, Mark Vientos nearly had a two-run, go-ahead home run to give the Mets the lead. He sent a pitch by Cease deep to right field, over the wall, but Fernando Tatis Jr. made a brilliant leaping grab over the wall to bring it back and rob Vientos. The play kept the game tied at one, and Cease was able to get out of the inning without allowing the Mets to score.

In his next at-bat the following inning, with two outs and the bases loaded, Vientos lifted another Cease pitch to the same area of the ballpark. This time, it went way over Tatis’ head and gave Vientos that elusive home run he nearly had the previous inning, his first long ball in two months. This one was grand, turning a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead.

That statement slam didn’t last long, as Montas and Huascar Brazobán melted down in the bottom of the inning. The two combined to surrender five runs, including a two-run shot off the bat of Luis Arráez and a would-be, inning-ending ground ball out that Brazobán was too slow covering first to get. A massive shot of momentum for the Mets quickly turned in favor of the Padres, who now held a 6-5 lead.

After Brazobán was finally able to get out of the fifth inning, the game became much milder with neither team scoring until yet another crazy inning in the ninth. Adrián Morejón, Jeremiah Estrada and Jason Adam combined for three hitless innings, bridging the way to closer Robert Suarez. Suarez, who had only allowed one home run all season before Monday’s game, left a fastball middle-away for Ronny Mauricio, who crushed it over the wall in right-center field. Mauricio’s second home run in as many games tied the game and sent it to the bottom of the ninth.

The bottom of the inning began as a disaster, with a single and a Gregory Soto throwing error on a sacrifice bunt, putting the winning run on second with no outs. Soto quickly recorded two outs on a fielder’s choice and a strikeout, but with one out to go and in a two-strike count, Elias Díaz lined a base hit into left field to secure a Padres walk-off win.

The Mets’ loss ends their win streak at seven games and keeps them 1.5 games ahead of the Phillies in the National League East.

Player of the Game

Mark Vientos’ grand slam was massive in the moment, considering how it affected the game, but also considering the trade chatter surrounding Vientos recently. He’s had a really rough season, but he’s swung the bat well lately and was rewarded (almost twice) for it tonight.

On Deck

The Mets continue their series with the Padres Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET. Sean Manaea (1-1, 2.19 ERA) will take the mound for New York while San Diego’s starter is to be determined. The game will air on SNY and MLB Network.