SAN DIEGO — A poor start from New York Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn ended painfully during an all-around brutal Friday night for the club.
Blackburn left the Mets’ 7-0 loss to the San Diego Padres with one out in the third inning after a line drive struck him on the right hand, just below his pinky finger. The Mets called the injury a hand contusion, but X-rays were inconclusive. Blackburn expects to have a CT scan on Saturday morning, which should clarify the severity of the injury.
“It doesn’t feel great, to be honest,” Blackburn said.
By the time Blackburn exited, things had unraveled. San Diego jumped to a 4-0 lead. The Padres pounced on enticing pitches that Blackburn frequently left over the plate. Blackburn allowed 10 hits, including two home runs, and seven hard-hit balls.
The Mets acquired Blackburn in a trade with the Oakland Athletics on July 30, and in five starts with New York, he has had three strong outings and two clunkers. At the time, the rotation had lost right-handers Christian Scott and Kodai Senga to the injured list, so the Mets, at a minimum, needed to fortify their group with a back-end option. That’s the way they viewed Blackburn.
Padres 7, Mets 0: The Mets failed to reach base until Marte doubled in the fifth. That was their lone base runner until Lindor’s hit w/ two outs in ninth. At one point, the Mets K’ed six straight times. Before an injury, Blackburn allowed 10 hits, five runs. New York is 67-62.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) August 24, 2024
If Blackburn is out for an extended period, his absence would put the Mets right back where they were just before the trade deadline. That’s when Tylor Megill (5.17 ERA in 10 games, nine starts) lingered as their fifth starter. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza wouldn’t commit to Megill when asked if he’d be the replacement if the Mets needed one, but there doesn’t seem to be particularly attractive alternatives.
Blackburn’s dud also put the Mets’ bullpen in a compromised position. With José Buttó’s ascension to high-leverage spots, coupled with the lack of trusted set-up options aside from him, New York does not carry a long reliever. Considering Jose Quintana’s recent struggles, it may behoove the Mets to do so, though who that long reliever would be is an open question similar to who looms on the depth chart after Megill.
“It’s good that a couple of the guys were able to go multiple innings today,” Mendoza said, referencing Ryne Stanek (1 2/3 innings), Danny Young (two innings) and Adam Ottavino (two innings). “We were able to keep some of the other guys from coming into the game today.”
Stanek, whom the Mets also traded for in July, relieved Blackburn and allowed an inherited runner to score plus another during the third inning. Earlier in the day, the Mets optioned the struggling Huascar Brazoban — another trade acquisition last month — for Dedniel Núñez, who returned from the injured list. Ottavino allowed one run in the eighth and ran into enough trouble that right-hander Reed Garrett needed to start loosening in the bullpen despite the lopsided score.
The trouble extended well beyond the trade-deadline acquisitions and the pitching staff.
The Padres held the Mets to just two base runners.
New York failed to reach base against Padres starter Joe Musgrove until Starling Marte hit a double to right field with one out in the fifth inning. New York stranded him there. The Mets didn’t reach base again until Francisco Lindor’s double with two outs in the ninth inning.
Musgrove was equal parts economical and excellent. By the end of the sixth inning, Musgrove had thrown just 64 pitches, including a whopping 49 strikes.
At one point, the Mets struck out six consecutive times. In the seventh inning, Musgrove struck out the side — Mark Vientos swinging, J.D. Martinez looking and Pete Alonso swinging — needing just 11 pitches. Then right-hander Jason Adam barely needed to work much harder. In relief of Musgrove, Adam threw 17 pitches to strike out Marte (swinging), Jose Iglesias (looking) and Jeff McNeil (swinging).
For the game, the Mets struck out 14 times, tying their season-high (done eight times).
“I thought Musgrove was really good,” Mendoza said when asked about his team’s at-bats. “Every pitch, the movement — we had a hard time picking up his breaking ball, the spin. But the cutter, the location — he was on today.”
In a pressure-packed playoff race, the Mets need to turn things around over the remaining two games against the Padres’ talented pitching staff. With a walk-off win over the Washington Nationals on Friday, the Atlanta Braves (69-59) increased their lead over the Mets (67-62) for a playoff spot to 2 1/2 games. It reminded the Mets that they can’t afford to have too many more ugly nights.
(Photo of Paul Blackburn and Francisco Alvarez: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)
