Mark Vientos hits 1st grand slam, but Padres walk-off over Mets



SAN DIEGO — The rivalry between the Mets and the San Diego Padres might not be an actual rivalry just yet, but going back to the 2022 NL wild card series, nearly every game they’ve played against one another has been entertaining.

That was true Monday night at Petco Park in a back-and-forth battle between two teams both vying for playoff spots in the National League. The Padres walked it off in dramatic fashion to take the first game of the series, 7-6, ending the Mets’ seven-game winning streak.

“I thought it was a great game,” said Mets DH Mark Vientos, who hit his first career grand slam in the fifth inning. “We’re talking about two playoff teams, and I thought it was a great game. It was a pretty long game, too. We were going back and forth, and they just came out on top today.”

It was long: three hours and 21 minutes to be exact, hardly enough time for all of the action that occurred.

Vientos, at the center of trade rumors, gave the Mets (62-45) a lead in the top of the fifth with his slam. The Padres (58-49) took it back in the bottom of the inning, scoring five runs off of right-hander Frankie Montas and Huascar Brazobán.

Rookie third baseman Ronny Mauricio hit a game-tying home run off closer Robert Suarez (3-4) in the top of the ninth, but the Padres struck again in the bottom of the inning with a familiar face in the middle of it all, former Mets infielder Jose Iglesias.

He laid down a bunt with a runner on first, and new Mets’ left-hander Gregory Soto fielded cleanly, but turned to throw to Francisco Lindor at second and threw it wide, pulling him off the bag. The runners were safe. Soto got two outs, including the lead runner at third, but that still left runners on first and second.

Elias Diaz, San Diego’s No. 9 hitter, hit a line drive to left field to score Iglesias.

The only thing to say at that point was, of course, OMG.

“He just got him there after we didn’t make a play,” said manager Carlos Mendoza.

There were bat flips, highlight-reel catches, a pitcher nearly hit in the head by a comebacker and, oh yeah, Mendoza was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Emil Jimenez.

“He had a rough night,” Mendoza said. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it there, especially when you’re talking about a couple of at-bats there for [Juan] Soto. Some key at-bats, you’re talking about one of the best hitters in the game, and you’re taking the bat away from him. And I felt like that first at-bat, [Brandon Nimmo] struck out on three pitches that weren’t close, so he just had a bad night.”

Tensions boiled over in the third inning when Soto, who spent part of the 2022 season and the entire 2023 season in San Diego, looked at a called strike three from Dylan Cease to end an eight-pitch at-bat. Soto, who doesn’t typically show much emotion, was visibly upset, held back by first base coach Antoan Richardson.

Mendoza leapt from the dugout to deal with Jimenez for Soto.

“I’ve got to be the one getting thrown out, whether it’s Soto or any of our players,” Mendoza said. “I knew from the very beginning after a couple of calls early in the game that I needed to be on top of it. Whether it’s Soto or anybody on the roster, I’ve got to go out there and protect them.”

Mendoza lauded Soto for how he handled himself the rest of the way in a hostile atmosphere. The slugger went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, but he reached base on a force-out and stole second, coming home on the grand slam from Vientos.

“Even on a night where he’s not getting results, he’s playing the game the right way,” Mendoza said.

Montas (3-2) struggled to locate. He couldn’t generate many whiffs with his splitter, or really any of his other pitches, and threw mostly fastballs in the bottom of the fifth when the Padres knocked him from the game. The grand slam gave Montas a 5-1 lead to work with, but it was 6-5 by the time Brazobán finished the inning.

“That was huge to see Vientos have a really good day today at the plate,” Montas said. “I definitely wanted to go out there and hold the game.”

He gave up a leadoff double to Fernando Tatis Jr., and Luis Arraez then banked a high fly off the foul pole for a home run, flipping his bat between home plate and first base.

Montas was charged with five earned runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out three in only 4 1/3 innings.

“I was probably trying to do too much, to be honest,” Montas said. “Trying to kind of like, trick them, but they’re a really good-hitting team and they don’t swing at everything.”

Vientos went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to seven games. He nearly homered in his second at-bat as well, but Tatis robbed him with a leaping catch over the fence.

“Made a heck of a play and I was like, ‘Damn nice play,’” Vientos said. “Amazing.”

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