Padres 7, Mets 2: Yonder Alonso is back!

Before Yonder Alonso hit the disabled list, he was hitting a whopping .333/.427/.437. Given how badly he's suffered after DL stints in the past, Padres fans had plenty of reason to be concerned about his return to the lineup tonight. It didn't take long for him to shut down any worrying. He knocked out a single on the second pitch, the first of three hits he'd put together as the Friars destroyed the Mets in tonight's 7-2 win.

The Mets jumped out to an early lead in the first. Ruben Tejada got on board with a one-out single to center, then moved into scoring position when Daniel Murphy drew a two-out walk. Ian Kennedy almost got out of the inning safely when he got Michael Cuddyer behind in the count 0-2, but Cuddyer fought back for an RBI single.

That 1-0 lead held for an inning, but the good guys hung a crooked number on Noah Syndergaard in the second. Yonder led off with his first hit of the night, then Will Middlebrooks added a single of his own. Cory Spangenberg laid down a bunt to move the go-ahead run into scoring position and managed to turn it into a single of his own. That brought up Alexi Amarista with the bases loaded and nobody out. The Little Ninja hit a line drive to right good for yet another single and a pair of runs. Kennedy finally made the first out of the inning as he moved Alexi to second with a sac bunt. Just for good measure, Will Venable got in on the RBI game with his second triple of the season, making the score 4-1 Padres after just two innings.

The Friars would add on in the next two innings. Alonso picked up his second hit of the night in the third, a one-out grounder to left. After Middlebrooks struck out, Spangenberg came up and knocked a line drive into the left field corner. He was called out at third before Alonso could make it to home, ending the inning without a run. At least, that's the version of the story Mets fans prefer. Bud Black challenged the call and it was overturned, giving Spangenberg the team's second triple of the night and another run. The next inning saw two more runs when Venable picked up a single before Derek Norris's fifth homer of the year, a shot to left center field. Syndergaard managed to close out the inning, but that was it for him. He became the second pitcher in major league history to strike out 10 while giving up 10 hits in less than five innings. The first, of course, was Andrew Cashner in last night's game.

The Mets got one more run in the sixth, when Cuddyer hit a double ahead of a Wilmer Flores single. That was all Kennedy would allow, going six innings and giving up just a pair of runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight. Dale Thayer and Frank Garces combined for a scoreless seventh. Joaquin Benoit retired the side in order to wrap up the eighth. With an ample lead, Shawn Kelley came in for the ninth and put the Mets down.

James Shields goes for the series win tomorrow. First pitch at 6:10 PM.