Two red-hot teams will battle this week. Amazingly, one of them is the New York Mets.

After sweeping the Washington Nationals, the resurgent Mets (56-69) face a tougher challenge as they host the scorching San Diego Padres (67-58) for a three-game series starting Monday. New York has been on a roll since shipping out several key players at the August 3 Trade Deadline.
They have ridden a productive offense starring a re-emergent Francisco Lindor, solid starting pitching, and a dominant bullpen full of unfamiliar faces – and perhaps much less pressure – to a 9-3 record in that span.

The Padres, meanwhile, are 9-4 since buying at the deadline to aid their playoff push in a crowded National League race. San Diego just took two of three from the Cleveland Guardians to stay one game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card spot and tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the second spot. They are seven games behind the LA Dodgers in the NL West.

New York would love to play spoiler against the team that knocked them out of the 2022 playoffs. For the most optimistic dreamers out there, the Mets are 11 games behind the Padres for that final playoff spot with 37 games remaining.

Let’s get into the pitching matchups for this three-game set.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

PITCHING MATCHUPS

  • Monday, 7:10 PM EDT: Nolan McLean (8-8, 3.42 ERA) vs. Walker Buehler (7-5, 4.88 ERA): McLean has been dominant aside from a blip in Cleveland two outings ago. Over his last 12 starts, the Mets’ ace has gone at least six innings and allowed two runs or fewer in 10 of those starts. Facing the Atlanta Braves last week, McLean took the loss despite allowing just one run on one hit and two walks, with three strikeouts, in six innings. Buehler, on the other hand, has struggled this season to go long into games. But the veteran righty was solid in his previous start, firing six innings of one-run ball against the National League-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
  • Tuesday, 7:10 PM EDT: TBD vs. Robbie Ray (10-7, 3.28 ERA): Zack Thornton (3-3, 2.78 ERA) is the likely choice, though New York has yet to announce a starter. The rookie has bounced back from a rare difficult start with solid showings his last two times on the mound. Thornton threw five shutout innings against the Pirates, following that up with a six-inning start against the Braves in which he allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk, earning the win. Ray was traded to the Padres after putting together a very good first half for the San Francisco Giants. The 34-year-old lefty has struggled in his first two starts since the trade, giving up nine hits, eight walks and six earned runs over nine innings. Ray beat the Mets on April 2 as a member of the Giants, striking out seven while allowing two runs on three hits and three walks over five and one-third innings. Mark Vientos homered, and Bo Bichette doubled in that game.
  • Wednesday, 1:10 PM EDT: TBD vs. Michael King (8-8, 3.41 ERA): Robert Stock (0-2, 6.57 ERA) likely lines up for this start. After pleasantly surprising in his first major league start since 2021 against the Marlins, Stock has been a mixed bag. The Pirates rocked the journeyman for eight runs over three innings, but Stock didn’t allow a run in his start against the Nationals despite lasting only four and one-third innings. King has been his usual reliable self this season. The righty beat the Guardians in his last start, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and a walk over six innings. The Mets handed King a loss back on June 5 in San Diego, scoring four runs on six hits against him. Jared Young and Luis Torrens homered, while Bichette and Brett Baty each had two hits. All are still on the Mets.

WHAT’S THE STORY?

Meet Kodai Senga, the high-leverage reliever. It’s not what we thought we were getting when Senga came over from Japan, but at this point we’ll take it. Senga has impressed in his transition to the closer role with Devin Williams out. On Sunday, he secured his third save, needing just 11 pitches. Senga is now three-for-three in save opportunities and has tossed five straight scoreless outings in relief. All this after an ugly 9.66 ERA over 31.2 innings as a starter this year.

It will be fascinating to watch whether Senga can keep this up for the rest of the season. If he does, Senga may be penciled in as a key bullpen piece on the 2027 Mets, despite his desire to start.

PREDICTION

Let the good times roll! The Mets will take two of three at home, starting with McLean beating the sleepy Padres after their late arrival in New York following a rain-delayed Sunday game.