Blake Snell #4 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets at Petco Park on July 8, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Photo by DENIS POROY / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
San Diego: Blake Snell allowed only one hit and struck out 11 in six shutout innings, Matthew Batten hit a two-run shot for his first homer in the majors and the San Diego Padres beat the New York Met 3-1 on Saturday night.
The Padres ended the Mets' winning streak at six, winning for the fourth time in five games.
"That's why he was the NL Pitcher of the Month of June and we got a view of it tonight,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said about Snell. "We knew he was on top of his game.”
Snell (6-7) had his fifth double-digit strikeout game of the season, all in his past six starts. He has won five of his last six decisions, lowering his ERA to 2.85.
Both Padres manager Bob Melvin and Showalter said that Snell had stellar command of all four of his pitches (slider, curveball, change-up, and fastball) on Saturday.
"I have always known I have been a four-pitch guy. I have always believed I could do that," Snell said have his pitching arsenal. "In between every outing I am making the adjustments I need to make and going into the next game a better pitcher every time, for the most part,”
Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save of the season.
The Padres took a 3-0 lead in the second inning against Mets starter David Peterson (2-7).
Gary Sanchez doubled and eventually scored from third on Brandon Dixon’s sacrifice fly. Batten, who was filling in for the injured Ha-Seong Kim at second base, added his two-run homer to left field. He was called up from Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday.
"I didn't feel anything off the bat and then running around the bases just didn't feel real,” Batten said of his home run. "I can't even put it into words. ... It was special."
Peterson lasted 5-1/3 innings, giving up three runs, five hits and striking out seven.
New York cut it to 3-1 in the seventh on Francisco Alvarez's homer off Luis Garcia. Nick Martinez struck out the side in the Mets’ eighth.
"I wasn't sure if we were going to have him (Martinez) today, but he said he is good to go as he typically does," Melvin said. "He strikes out three, has a great inning, sets up for Josh.”
