Series Preview: Mets Face Padres in Critical Wild Card Series

The race is on!

After holding a firm lead for the majority of the season in the Wild Card standings, the Mets are now in a tight race. Between the Diamondbacks, Reds, and Giants, three teams are two games or less behind the Mets for the final spot in the National League playoff picture. It is a drastic change for a team that many thought could win the division, as they are in true danger of missing the playoffs.

However, the Mets have a chance to right the ship against the San Diego Padres. Five games behind San Diego in the Wild Card race, the Mets could make things very interesting with a productive series at home.

Pitching Matchups

Tuesday: Clay Holmes (11-8, 3.75 ERA) vs. Michael King (4-2, 2.87 ERA)

• The 2025 season for Clay Holmes has had a large mix of good and bad within it, and his last start was no different. Over four innings, the former reliever struck out five batters. However, the pitcher allowed four runs on six hits, while also issuing three walks. Holmes lost the zone once again and could not put batters away, leading to a very short outing against the Phillies. The Mets, with Sean Manaea now moved to the bullpen, will not need Holmes to go as deep into this game. The Mets plan to have Manaea piggyback Holmes Tuesday evening. 
• As of now, Michael King is set to take the hill for the Padres in game one of this series. He’s pitched just twice since May due to shoulder and knee issues. At his best, King can mow down lineups with a great arsenal and even better location. However, King can also leave balls in the zone and struggle with command, allowing lineups to score a chunk of runs off of him. New York has to take advantage of the pitcher’s rust and get off to a hot start in this series. 

Wednesday: TBD vs. Nick Pivetta (13-5, 2.73 ERA) 

• As of now, the New York Mets do not have a starter listed for the second game of this series. I would expect David Peterson to get the ball here, but it has not been formally announced yet. 
• The Mets will face Nick Pivetta in the second game of this series, and it is set to be a tough matchup. In addition to being one of the better pitchers in the sport this season, Pivetta has been lights out since July and has started September in a strong way. Attacking batters with a five-pitch mix, the veteran is coming off a performance where he carved up the Reds to the tune of eight strikeouts and no runs over seven innings. The Mets need to attack Pivetta early, hopefully do some damage, and get him out of his comfort zone. Otherwise, it could be a long night. 

Thursday: TBD vs. TBD

• As of now, there is no probable starter listed for the New York Mets to wrap up the series. Based on the previous rotation cycle, this game should have Jonah Tong taking the hill. However, nothing has been made official yet.
• As of now, there is no listed starter for the Padres in the last game of this series.

The Main Headline

Get the job done.

The Mets are still chasing consistency, even at this late point of the season. And with only a few weeks remaining in the regular season, the headline is simple: Get to the postseason. 

As I have said so many times this year, New York has the fire and ability to win against the best teams in the league. They also have the uncanny ability to lose to any team, and usually in the most excruciating fashion possible. 

For the Mets to seal their playoff birth, they need to be consistent. Period. As I mentioned in last week’s article, one of Peterson, Manaea, or Holmes needs to find a higher level of consistency to supplement the rookie standouts. The bullpen needs to be average, instead of being an awful unit that cannot hold a lead. The offense needs to break out of its shell and not disappear for games at a time. 

At long last, it is finally go time, and the Mets frankly need everyone to be better. New York is capable of anything, both good and bad.  To have the good outcome unfold, the entire roster needs to play to the back of its baseball card and show why they were once considered one of the best teams in baseball in 2025. Otherwise, it will be a long offseason of change in New York. 

Prediction

In their series against the Padres, I see the Mets winning two of three. 

At the plate, Pete Alonso will have two home runs, Francisco Lindor will have two doubles, and Juan Soto will have two games of two RBIs(Yes, I am treating two as the magic number this week for the Mets). I also think that Francisco Alvarez will have two hits in the series. 

After this series, I have the Mets at 79-74 heading into a critical series with the Washington Nationals.