Mets take brutal loss to Padres as Paul Blackburn exits with injury

SAN DIEGO — A bad night for the Mets turned potentially brutal as Paul Blackburn sat on the mound in Friday’s third inning examining his right hand. 

Moments earlier, David Peralta smashed a 100-mph line drive that deflected off the Mets pitcher and turned into the first out of the inning with Jose Iglesias fielding the ball and throwing to first. 

Blackburn’s pitching hand caught the brunt of Peralta’s line drive, forcing him to depart on a night that was already worth forgetting, with the Padres on his pitches almost from the start. 

The Mets lost 7-0 at Petco Park and fell 2 ½ games behind Atlanta for the NL’s third wild card, but in the larger picture there is the question of filling out a rotation.

Blackburn, according to the Mets, departed with a contusion on the hand and will undergo further testing Saturday. 

The Mets’ starting pitching depth is limited due to injuries. Tylor Megill, who has struggled in two stints for the team this season, is the primary option at Triple-A Syracuse if Blackburn can’t take his next turn. 

Blackburn was acquired at the trade deadline from Oakland by the Mets after Kodai Senga (calf) and Christian Scott (elbow) hit the injured list. 

Blackburn allowed 10 hits and five earned runs over 2 ¹/₃ innings. Luis Arraez homered leading off the game against him and Kyle Higashioka delivered a two-run blast against him in the second. 

The Mets dug into their bullpen after Blackburn’s departure, with Ryne Stanek pressed to pitch 1 ²/₃ innings in which he allowed one earned run.

Danny Young worked the next two innings scoreless and Adam Ottavino worked the seventh and eighth and surrendered one run. 

All the while, Joe Musgrove — who dominated the Mets in Game 3 of the 2022 NL Wild Card series at Citi Field — was close to untouchable. The right-hander allowed only one hit over seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Starling Marte and Francisco Lindor accounted for the Mets’ only two hits, both with doubles. 

The Mets missed an opportunity to move seven games above .500, which would have matched their season high. There are still eight games remaining on this road trip, with the sizzling Diamondbacks awaiting after the Mets finish their series with the Padres on Sunday. 

David Peterson and Jose Quintana are the starting pitchers the next two days as the Mets look to recover from Friday night’s shellacking.

The Mets won Thursday’s series opener with strong bullpen work and late-inning offense. 

Blackburn on this night allowed three hits in the first inning, falling into a 1-0 hole on Arraez’s homer leading off. Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts each singled in the inning, but Blackburn escaped by retiring Jackson Merrill. 

Peralta singled leading off the second and Higashioka’s homer gave the Padres a 3-0 lead.

But the Padres ignited another rally in the inning against Blackburn, with singles by Mason McCoy, Arraez and Jake Cronenworth, the last of which extended the Mets’ deficit to 4-0.

Machado singled for the Padres’ sixth hit of the inning before Blackburn struck out Bogaerts for the final out. 

Merrill’s grounder to first base leading off the third should have been the first out, but in an apparent miscommunication with Blackburn covering the bag, Pete Alonso kept the ball and was beaten to the base.

Peralta’s shot off Blackburn’s hand followed. 

The Mets didn’t get a base runner until the fifth, after Musgrove had retired the first 13 batters he faced: Marte smashed a double to right field, but was left stranded.

It turned out to be the Mets’ only base runner until the ninth, when Lindor doubled with two outs.