Morejon returns, Darvish dominates Mets in win
Credit: Padres
The San Diego Padres dominated all phases of the game, allowing just two hits while also scoring seven times in the victory over the Mets on Tuesday night.
Yu Darvish was spectacular, while Adrian Morejon was perfect in his MLB return.
Jurickson Profar reached base four times and homered, while the Padres scored seven times on just six hits.
Yu Darvish was absolutely spectacular for the Padres, flirting with a no-hitter in seven shutout frames. Darvish struggled out of the gate, hitting Brandon Nimmo to start the game. He then hit both Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil to start off the second inning but proceeded to retire the next 14 batters he faced.
Mark Canha broke up Darvish’s quest for history with a soft single into left field, but Darvish quickly ended the inning with a flyout from Francisco Lindor. Escobar also surrendered a two-out double to Eduardo Escobar in the seventh, but he got out of that jam as well. Darvish finished his day by striking out six batters, walking none, and allowing just two hits in seven of the best innings he’s thrown all season. Bob Melvin praised Darvish for working his way through a talented Mets lineup.
After Darvish started off the game with a quick first inning, Jurickson Profar got the Padres off to a fast start at the plate. On the sixth pitch of his at-bat, Profar took a fastball over the right field wall. Profar’s ball was hit at 105.9 miles per hour, the fastest exit velocity of the night. Profar walked in three of his final four at-bats, putting together an .800 OBP for the day. Profar is hitting. 324, with two home runs and an OPS of .817 since May 10. He’s been a crucial part of the last month for the Padres, which is a big reason he’s been leading off recently.
The Padres added on in the second inning, sending eight batters to the plate, scoring three times. Eric Hosmer and Nomar Mazara hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before both moved into scoring position on Ha-Seong Kim’s groundout. Trent Grisham brought home Hosmer, doubling the Padres’ lead. Profar drew a two-out walk to load the bases before the white-hot Jake Cronenworth brought home two more runs. Cronenworth took a fastball up the middle as the Padres continued to jump on Taijuan Walker’s heater. The Padres offense settled down for a few frames but awoke again in the seventh.
The Mets brought Colin Holderman in to start the seventh, and the Padres took advantage. He walked the first three batters he faced, loading the bases before Manny Machado hit a two-run single. Machado had been in a season-worst slump, but this may have been the first step out of it. Cronenworth scored on Luke Voit’s sacrifice fly, bringing home the Padres’ seventh and final run of the night. Bob Melvin said, “Then to add on like that is great.”, praising the Padres for keeping their feet on the gas.
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Adrian Morejon made his first appearance for the Padres since early 2021 when he suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. Morejon worked his way back through the minor league system before being activated before the game. He retired all six batters he faced, including a strikeout of Francisco Lindor to end the game. It was a fantastic return for Morejon, who capped a two-hit shutout by the Padres pitching staff.
The Padres picked up their fourth win in five games, completely dominating a talented Mets lineup. They pulled within 1.5 games of the NL West-leading Dodgers and will look to get within a half-game with a win on Wednesday.
Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.
Morejon looked really good in his return. Having that left handed arm will boost the bullpen. We haven’t had to overuse them this year, as we did last year.