Mets waste homer heroics in wild loss to Padres that snaps win streak

SAN DIEGO — The Mets fought.

With the Padres. With plate umpire Emil Jimenez, repeatedly. And right until their final swing.

But a particularly wild night of California baseball ended with Mets pitching and fielding mishaps overshadowing their pugnacity in a 7-6 walk-off loss at a loud and sold-out Petco Park on Monday that ended their seven-game winning streak.

Frankie Montas and Huascar Brazobán imploded to flush a four-run lead in the fifth inning. Ronny Mauricio launched a tying homer that forced the Padres to take their turn at bat in the ninth inning, which is when the most dramatic moments of a dramatic night unfolded.

Against new Met Gregory Soto, Xander Bogaerts singled.

A pinch-hitting Jose Iglesias — yep, that Jose Iglesias — laid down a bunt, which Soto fielded and threw to second base for the force out, but his wild throw pulled Lindor off the bag.

Soto retired two straight Padres batters before Elias Díaz drilled a single into left-center, driving in Iglesias for the game-winning run.

The Mets (62-45) wasted a grand slam from Mark Vientos and a game-tying, ninth-inning home run from Mauricio.

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Montas (4 ¹/₃ innings, five runs) could not survive the fifth inning, and the trouble he handed to Brazobán only escalated in the Padres’ five-run frame.

After Vientos drilled a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the fifth inning that could have been the game’s deciding moment, Montas crumbled in the bottom of the inning.

After a double from Fernando Tatis Jr., who was monstrous for the Padres, Luis Arraez sent a ball to the moon. When it came down, it bounced off the right field pole for a two-run homer. Manny Machado singled before Bogaerts hammered a double into the left field corner, which prompted Brazobán to enter.

After inducing a foul out from Gavin Sheets for the second out, Jake Cronenworth hammered an infield single that a sliding Pete Alonso nabbed before Brazobán lost the footrace to first base to score another run and keep the inning alive. Bryce Johnson then grounded a well-placed, RBI single into right to tie the game. Díaz stroked a first-pitch single into left for the go-ahead run.

After six starts, Montas has yet to reach six innings — a distance only David Peterson has been able to touch recently — and owns a 5.46 ERA.

Brazobán is still enjoying a strong season, but the Mets bullpen has been overworked and in search of reinforcements. Rico Garcia and Ryne Stanek pieced together three scoreless innings, which provided the Mets offense an opportunity it could not capitalize on against the Padres bullpen.

About as eventful a game as can be played in July included:

• A serious scare in the top of the third inning, when Francisco Lindor bounced a hard comebacker off the back of Dylan Cease’s head. After a check-in with a trainer and several warmup pitches, the Padres starter remained in the game and faced …
• Juan Soto, who was furious over a 2-1 pitch that appeared outside the strike zone and was called a strike. After Soto was later punched out in the at-bat, he got into the face of Jimenez and had to be separated by Carlos Mendoza, who was tossed shortly thereafter, having to watch from afar as …
• Vientos smashed a towering fly ball toward right field in the fourth inning. The struggling infielder/DH did, indeed, hit the ball out of the field of play, but it never reached the seats. Right fielder Tatis waited at the track, timed his leap well and robbed the would-be two-run homer. He could not do so again one inning later, though, when …
• Vientos stepped up to the plate in a moment that reminded of Game 2 of the NLCS, in which the Dodgers intentionally walked Lindor to load the bases for Vientos, and the emerging star then smacked a grand slam.

A season later, and Vientos has rarely looked like the same breakout slugger, but he did as he followed up an intentional walk to Jeff McNeil by demolishing a no-doubt grand slam into the right field seats — too deep even for Tatis to rob — and break open what had been a tie game.

If Vientos were trying to show he should be staying with his current team, his current team’s pitching staff then mounted an argument it should be prioritized at the deadline.