Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres beat the New York Mets 4-2 on Tuesday night. David Peterson took the mound for the Mets, looking good against the Padres after having a nightmare start in Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the Mets’ offense — which entered the game with an NL-worst .218 batting average — fell short and struggled to score runs with many opportunities.

The Mets offensive woes started in the bottom of the first inning. The Mets loaded the bases behind a Brandon Nimmo walk, Starling Marte bunt single, and Francisco Lindor walk. With nobody out, and a chance to break open the game early, Ryan Weathers struck out Pete Alonso and got Mark Canha to ground into a double-play to escape the inning unscathed.

After escaping a game in the bottom of the first, the Padres threatened in the top of the second. Jake Cronenworth and Luis Campusano both reached base via the single, setting up runners on first and third with one out. Like his counterpart Weathers, Peterson settled down and induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of Trent Grisham.

The Mets’ offense broke through in the bottom of the fourth. Lindor opened the inning with a single and advanced to third after Alonso added a single of his own. After Alonso was picked off for the first out of the inning, Canha hit a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

The Padres responded quickly and took the lead in the top of the fifth. Peterson allowed two singles in the inning but had the opportunity to escape after retiring Xander Bogaerts for the second out. Manny Machado had other plans for the left-hander, and drilled a double down the left-field line to give the Padres a 2-1 lead.

Peterson got two outs in the top of the sixth but was pulled after Ha-Seong Kim recorded a two-out single. The left-hander looked good against a loaded Friars lineup, striking out six batters and allowing two runs over 5 2/3 innings.

The Padres added to their lead in the top ninth. Dennis Santana got into immediate trouble after allowing a lead-off double to Campusano. After retiring the next two batters, Santana allowed a long two-run home run to Bogaerts to increase the Padres’ lead to 4-1.

The Mets threatened the Padres in the bottom of the ninth against Josh Hader. Alonso started the inning with a walk and reached second base after Jeff McNeil walked with one out. Tommy Pham followed McNeil’s walk with a single up the middle, driving home Alonso and cutting the Mets’ deficit to 4-2. Hader got Tomás Nido to ground out for the second out of the inning but allowed McNeil and Pham to steal third and second base to put the tying run in scoring position. However, the former All-Star struck out Francisco Álvarez for the third out of the inning, ending the Mets’ comeback attempt.

The Mets’ failed to take the series from the Padres on Tuesday night. The offense only scored two runs after loading the bases in the first with nobody out, while also leaving seven batters on base. With the loss, the Mets fell to 6-6 on the season.

Player of the Game: David Peterson

Peterson bounced back against the Padres after allowing five earned runs in four innings against the Brewers. The left-hander struck out six batters and allowed only two earned runs across 5 2/3 innings. Peterson lowered his season ERA from 6.00 to 4.91 after Tuesday’s start.

On Deck

Tylor Megill will start the third game of the series for the Mets. Megill is coming off a scoreless outing against the Marlins, where he struck out three in six innings. Blake Snell gets the start for the Padres. The left-hander started game 2 of the NL Wildcard game at Citi Field and lost the only game of the series for the Padres.

First pitch on Wednesday is at 1:1o pm. The game will be available to watch on SNY and MLB Network and can be listened to on 880 WCBS.