Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets managed a satisfying series victory on Wednesday, besting the Padres 5-2 to take two out of three from the team that knocked them out of last year’s postseason.

For the third time in three starts, Tylor Megill gave the Mets exactly what they needed out of a player that was their No. 7 starter at the beginning of the spring. Megill’s day started off about as bad as possible in the first, as he allowed Juan Soto to absolutely destroy a two-run homer that put the Mets in an early hole. However, he bounced back in a major way and did not allow a run the rest of the way, finishing the day with 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, and 3 K’s.

After his performance, Megill is now 3-0 on the season with a 2.25 ERA. For those worried that his early-season success was only a result of facing the Marlins in back-to-back starts, he proved that he was able to handle a much more talented lineup on Wednesday.

With Justin Verlander getting set to return at some point before the end of the month, the Mets are approaching a difficult decision they will have to make to determine their No. 4 and No. 5 starters (although there were be scenarios moving forward where they will absolutely need a sixth starter  as well). Carlos Carrasco has really struggled in his first two starts and currently has an 11.42 ERA. Meanwhile, Megill and David Peterson (0-2, 4.91 ERA) are coming off of excellent starts against a tough San Diego lineup.

Despite his struggles, Carrasco is likely to remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future, so the Mets will have to decide whether to keep Peterson or Megill at least until José Quintana makes his return later in the season. While it’s still a small sample size, Megill has certainly made his case in his first three opportunities.

Despite Megill’s solid showing, the Mets still needed to navigate four full innings against a lineup that featured the likes of Manny Machado, Soto, Xander Bogaerts, and Jake Cronenworth with a narrow lead after Pete Alonso put the Mets in front with his league-leading sixth homer of the year in the bottom of the fifth.

Buck Showalter had essentially his entire repertoire of relievers to choose from on Wednesday, and all of the Mets’ big guns got important outs to keep the Padres off the board. Brooks Raley allowed two baserunners and left a two-on, two-out jam to Drew Smith, but Smith was able to strike out Austin Nola.

Smith left the exact same situation to David Robertson in seventh with Soto at the dish, but Robertson got him to fly out. In the eighth, Robertson allowed to base hits to once more bring the tying run to the dish, but was able to finish the inning and continue his dominant start in a Mets’ uniform.

From there, it was on to Adam Ottavino to close out the game in the ninth, who finished the Padres off in three batters to earn his first save of the year.

The Mets’ bullpen was far from perfect on Wednesday, but their bend-but-don’t-break approach got the job done against a team that is many people’s pick to win the National League pennant.

The Mets are not a team that’s anywhere close to clicking on all cylinders. Their lineup has largely struggled, and they have hit for almost no power outside of  Alonso. Their hits with runners in scoring position have been practically non-existent. On the pitching end, their ace, Max Scherzer has been inconsistent and Carrasco’s first two starts has been a nightmare. Their bullpen has had its ups and downs. They have lost their closer, co-ace, No. 4 starter, and starting catcher to injuries.

Despite all of that, the Mets will wake up on Thursday morning with a winning record at 7-6. They have now won three of four series to start the season, and just won two of three from a Padres team that is expected to be a World Series contender. Throw out that forgetful series against the Brewers where everything seemed to have gone wrong, and the Mets have played .700 ball despite still not getting much from their lineup.

Eventually, the big hits will come. They will start hitting for more power, and they may even get some offensive reinforcements. They may even get healthier (fingers crossed on that one).

For now, they are keeping their head above water, and Wednesday’s win was an impressive performance, all things considered. If they can handle business over the weekend against a truly dreadful Oakland team, they will be in a good spot entering next week when they face another NL contender in Los Angeles.