Justin Verlander did his job on Friday night in San Diego, helping the Mets to continue their recent hot streak. While he didn’t have his best stuff, Verlander limited the damage to keep his team in the ballgame.

Verlander took the mound with a one-run lead in the bottom of the first inning. He walked leadoff hitter Ha-Seong Kim before allowing a RBI double to Manny Machado that tied the game. An error by Luis Guillorme brought in the Padres second run of the inning, as Machado scored from second base on a ball that never left the infield. Machado once claimed that he’s not “Johnny Hustle,” but he sure looked the part on this particular play.

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After a tough first inning for Verlander, he allowed another RBI double in the second. This time it was Trent Grisham doing the damage, sending a line drive down the right field line to score former Met Gary Sánchez. Verlander kept the damage to one run in the inning.

Verlander held the Padres lineup at three runs for the remainder of his night. He struck out two batters and allowed two earned runs across six innings.

The former-Tiger has now strung along three straight quality starts for the Mets. In those three games he has combined for 18 innings, 2 earned runs and 13 strikeouts. While his walk rate has gone up in the past three starts, Verlander hasn’t been burned by the free passes.

With the Mets recent six game winning streak, they now stand at 6.5 games back from the last Wild Card spot in the National League. If this team is going to continue this run, they’ll need this version of Verlander down the final stretch. He has had an up-and-down first season in Queens, but has seemly turned a corner before heading into the second-half of the season.

Verlander’s next start is projected to come against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field after the All-Star break, but that has not been announced yet. The Mets will finish up the 3-game series against the Padres this weekend before the break. Hopefully the team can end the first half on a good note and place themselves in the pennant race in September.