Blackburn Shelled in San Diego, Mets Lose 7-0

Paul Blackburn gave up a lead-off home run in the first. Things only got worse from there.

The San Diego Padres scored three times in the second and Blackburn took a line drive off the right hand in the third, which knocked him out of the Mets’ 7-0 loss at Petco Park Friday night. New York managed just two hits compared to the Padres’ 16.

Meanwhile in Atlanta, the Braves beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 in 10 innings, so the Mets (67-62) fell 2 1/2 games back of the final Wild Card spot. The Padres (73-57) have now won 23 of their last 30 games.

Reigning two-time batting champ Luis Arráez hit the opening homer off Blackburn as part of a 3-for-5 performance. The 27-year-old is 26-for-57 against the Mets in his career for a .456 batting average, which is the highest for any opponent who has had at least 50 at-bats vs. New York. St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial at .405 is second.

The Padres got four-consecutive hits to start the second inning, including a Kyle Higashioka two-run home run as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead.

Jackson Merrill led off the San Diego third with a grounder to first. Pete Alonso looked like he was about to make an underhand flip to Blackburn for the out, but he never made the toss and Merrill beat Alonso to the bag for an infield hit. David Peralta followed with the line drive off Blackburn’s hand. The Mets announced that he suffered a hand contusion and will undergo more tests Saturday.

The Padres ended up scoring twice in the third. Blackburn threw a total of 2 1/3 innings while allowing five earned runs and 10 hits. It was his second time with the Mets and fourth time this year that he gave up at least five earned runs in an outing. His ERA jumped to 4.66 as a result.

Meanwhile, Joe Musgrove dealt in his best game of the year. He retired the first 13 batters he faced before Starling Marte doubled in the fifth inning. Musgrove tossed seven shutout innings, striking out nine and walking none. He has now pitched 20 consecutive scoreless innings against New York dating back to his infamous 2022 playoff win that ended the Mets’ season.

Francisco Lindor extended his streak of reaching base safely to 22 consecutive games with a double with two outs in the ninth inning.

Stat of the Game

The Padres had 12 hits in the first three innings. The last time an opponent did that against the Mets was July 18, 2018, when the Washington Nationals beat the Mets 25-4 and Anthony Rendon hit three homers to go with 10 RBIs.

Player of the Game

Must we? OK, Danny Young pitched two scoreless innings.

On Deck

David Peterson (7-1,  3.00 ERA) faces righty Michael King (11-6, 3.18 ERA) in an 8:40 p.m. ET start. Both hurlers have fared well of late. Peterson has pitched to a 1.85 ERA in August (four starts) while King is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA in three starts this month. The game will air on WPIX.

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