Over the winter, Mets ace Max Scherzer made him the highest-paid annual player in baseball history by giving him a three-year, $130 million contract. He was the biggest signing in the second year of owner Steven A. Cohen’s revamp of a franchise that had suffered more than its fair share of headaches and losses over the years.
It worked – to a certain extent. Despite missing nine weeks of the regular season through injury, Scherzer, 38, excelled on the mound. And in the clubhouse, he helped transform the Mets’ culture and became one of the key leaders, leading them to their first playoff appearance since 2016.
Scherzer, who was assigned Game 1 in the Mets’ best-of-three wildcard series against the San Diego Padres on Friday, failed to fulfill his role. In fact, he had the worst postseason start of his 15-year career in the 7-1 loss to the Mets. In his 27th postseason appearance of his career, Scherzer hit seven runs and four homers.
And as he trotted off the mound in the fifth inning, Scherzer was showered with boos from a sold-out crowd of 41,621 fans at Citi Field. Within a few innings, the mood in Flushing went from deafeningly loud to eerily quiet as the Padres repeatedly fired balls into the stands.
“I’m disappointed,” said Scherzer. “Baseball can take you to the highest highs and the deepest lows, and this is one of the deepest of all lows.”
The Mets with 101 wins are now close to elimination. Losing their division, the National League East, to the Atlanta Braves in the closing days of the regular season secured the Mets the best wildcard spot (of three) in the playoffs. And in this year’s new postseason format, that meant hosting the second wildcard team, the 89 Siege Padres.
The fate of the Mets now falls to their other ace, Jacob deGrom, in Game 2 on Saturday at Citi Field.
Despite the presence of several star hitters this season, the Padres have at times struggled to produce a consistent offense. This was also the case after the August 2nd trading deadline, when they struck a blockbuster trade for Washington Nationals superstar Juan Soto and standout first baseman Josh Bell.
After joining the Padres, Bell hit .192 with three homers. Also struggling in the same span of time were fellow outfielders Jurickson Profar (.213) and Trent Grisham (.144). But against Scherzer, all three looked like thugs.
With Profar on base after a single in the first inning, Bell hit a Scherzer fastball across the plate into left field seats for a two-run home run. Grisham did the same with a Scherzer offer but in second for a solo blast to right field.
Despite being 3-0 down, the Mets still had plenty of time. Your offense is based on hitting average and coming to base, not necessarily smashing the ball over the fence. They finished 15th (out of 30 teams) in home runs in the regular season, meaning a comeback wouldn’t be as quick or powerful.
Mets all-star outfielder Starling Marte tried his best to speed his return after a broken finger that had kept him out since Sept. 6, stealing two bases. But in keeping with the theme of the evening, his teammates failed to rush him inside.
San Diego Padres ace Yu Darvish had a big lead and for seven innings neutralized the Mets’ offense with his wide array of dipping and cut pitches.
With two runners in the fifth inning, Profar punished another Scherzer error and sneaked it over the right field fence for a three-run blast. After scoring, Padre’s shortstops Ha-Seong Kim and Profar each put a finger to their mouths as if to further silence the already calming crowd.
Two batters later, the boos came after Scherzer handed a line-drive solo home run to Padre’s All-Star third baseman Manny Machado. As Mets manager Buck Showalter sauntered toward the mound, Scherzer kicked the pitching rubber and flicked the ball into his glove. He passed the ball to Showalter and dejectedly walked toward the Mets’ dugout.
After an exciting regular season that sparked renewed hope in a fan base that had grown accustomed to watching other teams play in October, the Mets are one loss away from a return of that disappointment.