New York Mets vs San Diego Padres

The Mets jumped on Padres starter Walker Buehler (7-6) immediately in the bottom of the first. A.J. Ewing led off with a single and Francisco Lindor worked a walk before Bo Bichette lined an RBI single to centre, scoring Ewing. Luis Robert Jr. followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Lindor, giving New York a 2-0 lead after just four batters.

San Diego halved the deficit in the top of the second. Gavin Sheets led off with a single, advanced to third on a walk and a groundout, and scored on Fernando Tatis Jr.'s sacrifice fly to centre.

That 2-1 scoreline held for the remaining seven innings, with both bullpens locking in and the Mets' defence repeatedly snuffing out Padre rallies.

The game pivoted in the top of the first before the Mets even came to bat. With runners on first and second and one out, Padres left fielder Luis Rengifo singled to left. Jake Cronenworth tried to score from second but Mets left fielder A.J. Ewing fired a strike to catcher Francisco Alvarez for the tag-out. Two batters later, with Manny Machado at third, Carson Benge caught a Jackson Merrill fly ball and unleashed a perfect throw home — Alvarez applied the tag on Machado to end the inning.

Benge was not finished. In the top of the second, Xander Bogaerts singled and tried to score from first on a Cronenworth double to right. Benge fielded, threw and nailed Bogaerts at the plate for his second outfield assist in as many innings. According to MLB.com, Benge recorded an outfield assist in his third consecutive game.

Nolan McLean (W, 9-8) — The Mets right-hander worked six innings, allowing one run on six hits with three strikeouts and four walks. He scattered the damage across 103 pitches, stranding five Padres in scoring position.

Carson Benge, RF, New York Mets — Two outfield assists in the first two innings, both cutting down Padres runs at the plate. Benge also singled in the third inning.

Daniel Duarte (S, 2) — The Mets closer pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out two on 14 pitches. Duarte has allowed one earned run across his last 10 appearances, dropping his ERA to 0.89.

Walker Buehler (L, 7-6) — San Diego's starter deserved a better fate: six innings, two runs (both earned), two hits, two walks and four strikeouts. The Mets managed only two hits off Buehler but made both count in that two-run first.

The Mets managed only five hits to San Diego's seven yet won the game, a reflection of situational execution rather than volume. Both teams went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, but the Mets' two runs came in a single inning where they strung together a hit, a walk, an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. San Diego, by contrast, left nine runners on base — four of them thrown out at home plate by Mets outfielders.

The Padres out-hit the Mets 7-5 and had a 5-2 edge in walks, but their .143 average with runners in scoring position (1-for-7) told the story. McLean induced 12 ground-ball outs against five fly-ball outs, keeping the ball in the park and relying on the defence behind him.

The Mets improved to 57-69, still fourth in the NL East but showing signs of life behind a young core. Nolan McLean lowered his ERA to 3.34 with his ninth win. The Padres dropped to 67-59, remaining second in the NL West but missing a chance to close the gap on the division-leading Dodgers.

These two teams meet again on Tuesday 18 August at Citi Field for the second game of the series.

A textbook example of early run support and lockdown defence holding up over nine innings. Carson Benge's arm turned the game in the first inning, and McLean and the Mets bullpen made sure the two runs stood. San Diego will rue the three runners cut down at the plate — a correctable flaw but one that decided this game.