Padres Hold Mets to 1 Hit & Advance to NLDS vs. Dodgers

The San Diego Padres bested the New York Mets 6-0 in the third and deciding game of the NL Wild Card Series. Joe Musgrove pitched seven scoreless innings surrendering only a single to Pete Alonso in the top of the 5th. The Mets were so flummoxed by Musgrove that the umpire checked his body for foreign substances. Robert Suarez pitched a scoreless 8th inning while Josh Hader recorded the final three outs in the 9th.

The Padres scored all six of their runs on singles. Austin Nola hit a two-run single in the 2nd inning while Trent Grisham drove in one run with a single in the 4th. Manny Machado had a RBI single in the 5th and Juan Soto hit a two-run single in the sixth. 

San Diego will travel to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS on Tuesday night. The Dodgers who won a franchise record 111 games this season will be heavy favorites as they finished 22 games ahead of the Padres in the NL West. The Friars were 5-13 against the Dodgers this season. No doubt there are many who don't think the Padres have a prayer against the Dodgers. But that was then and this is now. For the Padres, nothing is written. Not yet anyway. 

My 2022 MLB post-season predictions haven't been so great. I predicted three of the four Wild Card Series incorrectly. The only one I got correct was the Cleveland Guardians defeating the Tampa Bay Rays. As such I shall refrain from making any further predictions until the World Series.