The New York Mets played poorly both in the field and at the plate as they fell to the San Diego Padres, 7-2. (box score).

Noah Syndergaard started for the Mets. He had won four of his last five starts after an inconsistent start to the year. But Noah was not as sharp as he had been the last month walking a total of five in seven innings pitched. He wasn’t helped by his defense.

The game turned around in the third, after the Mets took an early 1-0 lead. The top of the third featured two walks, two stolen bases, two errors by Dominic Smith and two Padres’ hits as they took the lead for good scoring three in the frame.

Smith misplayed two other balls, one that flew over his head, the other, a pop fly that he could not reach.

The Mets had their chances, especially in the first and in the seventh, when they loaded the bases in each frame, but could not get the clutch hit when needed. The Mets played a lackluster game which has been seen all to frequently this year.

The bad taste in their mouths from this game must dissipate quickly as the Mets have a quick turn-around when they conclude the Padres’ series just afternoon on Thursday.

Pitching

Noah Syndergaard made his 20th start of the year Wednesday against San Diego.

Syndergaard was fortunate to get out of the first inning unscathed. Manuel Margot walked followed by a single by Manny Machado to put runners on first and third. Eric Hosmer, who is hitting .370 with RISP, hit a hard line-drive that found the glove of Syndergaard who then threw to first for the double play.

Noah also faced a first and third, one out situation in the second. This time he wasn’t as lucky as San Diego tied the score 1-1. Hunter Renfroe led off with a single followed by a walk to Franmil Reyes. Luis Urias hit into a double play moving Renfroe to third. On a two-strike pitch, light-hitting catcher Austin Hedges singled to center to tie the game at 1-1.

The Padres took the lead in the third on some wildness by both Syndergaard on the mound and Dominic Smith in left. Manuel and Machado both walked. Manuel stole second and third to put runners on the corners. Manuel has 15 steals for the year and has yet to be caught. Syndergaard has given up 22 steals on the year.

Hosmer then hit a short fly to right. McNeil made the catch, but his throw to the plate was late and Manuel scored to give the Padres a 2-1 lead. Machado went to second on the throw.

Renfro followed with a single to left that Smith misplayed, allowing Renfro to take second. Machado scored to make the score 3-1. He was driven in on a double by Franmil Reyes to make the score 4-1. Reyes advanced to third on a throwing error by Smith, his second misplay of the frame. Urias grounded out to finally end the inning.

In the fourth, Syndergaard worked around a double off the bat off Fernando Tatis. The Padres failed to bring him around.

Syndergaard settled down in the fifth as he retired the Padres in order for his first 1-2-3 inning of the night. He did likewise in the sixth, tossing his strongest inning as he struck out Reyes and Hedges. Noah had eight Ks at this point in the game.

Noah got in trouble again in the seventh but navigated through it without giving up a run. Pinch-hitter Ian Kinsler, playing his first game ever at Citi-Field, lined a single to begin the frame. It was the veteran’s 1997th hit of his career. Tatis followed with a single, and after a double steal, the Padres had runners on second and third. But Syndergaard got Margot, Machado, and Renfroe to end the inning to keep the Mets in the game trailing 4-2. It was Noah’s last inning of the contest. His final line was: 7 IP, 4 R (3 earned), 8 H, 8 Ks, 5 BB 109 pitches (73 strikes)

Jeurys Familia came in to pitch the eighth, faced three batters, and failed to get any of them out. Reyes led off with a single but was caught stealing. Luis Urias, who is hitting .083, walked followed by a long double to center by Hedges, scoring Urias to make the score 5-2. Mickey Callaway removed Familia in favor of Luis Avilan. He faced one batter, Francisco Mejia, who singled to right to put runners at first and third.

Tyler Bashlor was next up out of the pen and he gave up a fly-ball single to right to Tatis. The ball was in the air for a long-time, but the Mets defense, which had a tough night, could not catch the pop-up. Mejia scored to make the score 6-2. Margot grounded into a double play to end the inning

Stephen Nogosek came in to pitch the ninth and got into immediate trouble as he surrendered a single to Machado and a double to Hosmer to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Machado scored on a sacrifice fly by Renfroe to make the score 7-2.

Offense

The Mets managed only five hits tonight against the Padres.

However, they wasted little time in getting on the board against San Diego. The Mets scored one run in the first and it can be nicknamed the anniversary run as it was produced by two players celebrating their anniversaries as a New York Met. Lead-off man Jeff McNeil, who joined the Mets last July 24, doubled to right to start. It was McNeil’s 27th double of the year. He is batting .424 (28-66) in the first inning this season, which is second in the majors.

Michael Conforto was next. Conforto joined the Mets on July 24, 2015, exactly four years ago today. He promptly singled to center to plate McNeil to give the Mets the early lead. It was Conforto’s 50th RBI of the season. The Mets loaded the bases on a walk to Pete Alonso, who was playing in his 100th game as a Met, and an infield single by Dominic Smith but the Mets failed to score further.

After San Diego scored three runs in the top of the third to take a 4-1 lead, the Mets crept closer in the bottom of the frame. Conforto stroked his second hit of the game, a double to right to lead off. He went to third on a wild pitch by Padres’ starter Dinelson Lamet. He was driven in on a weak grounder to first by Robinson Cano, his 28th RBI of the year.

The Mets did not score in the middle three innings of the game. The Padres’ second pitcher of the night, Matt Strahm. faced six batters in the fifth and sixth and retired all six. During this stretch, Todd Frazier struck out for the third time in the game. It was the 14th time in 23 ABs, that Frazier has struck out in his last six games. The Mets would threaten in the seventh.

The Padres brought in Craig Stammen, their third pitcher of the night. Amed Rosario doubled to right with one out. It was the first Mets’ hit since Conforto’s double in the third. The Mets had 13 straight batters fail to hit a ball out of the infield prior to Rosario’s hit. Walks to pinch-hitter J.D. Davis and Jeff McNeil loaded the bases with two outs. But Conforto struck out to end the frame to keep the score 4-2.

In the eighth, with the score 6-2, the Padres brought in their fourth pitcher, Andres Munoz. He allowed a walk to Alonso, but pitched an effective inning allowing no further damage.

Only Conforto, with two hits, had a multi-hit game for New York.

On Deck

The Mets try to win the series against the Padres Thursday in a matinee that starts at 12:10 PM. Jacob deGrom (5-7, 3.02 ERA) will take the mound for New York. Jacob will be looking to get his ERA below 3.00 for the first time since April. Over his last 11 starts, he has pitched well, producing a 2.31 ERA. DeGrom is coming off a gem against San Francisco where he allowed no runs, three hits and 10 strikeouts in seven IP.

Eric Lauer (5-7, 4.31 ERA) gets the ball for the Padres. He is making his second start since coming off the bereavement list after his July 5th start.  In his last outing, he got a no-decision against the Chicago Cubs. He allowed five runs on six hits in 4.2 innings pitched.

The game will be telecast on SNY and broadcast on 880 WCBS-AM.