Mets 4, Padres 3: Friars miss opportunities, umps miss calls

Today's game ended hours ago, but if the umpires working the replay in New York had done their job properly, we could still be watching baseball right now. There were plenty of missed opportunities for the Padres, but it still stings to lose a game on a bad call, especially when replay is available.

The Mets got on the board in the second. Kevin Plawecki started a two-out rally with a double to left. Eric Campbell singled him in, and then a single and a walk loaded the bases for Asdrubal Cabrera. He hit another single, but the damage was limited to one run. They added a third the next inning when Yoenis Cespedes led off with a solo shot.

The Padres got two of those back in the fifth. Alexei Ramirez singled ahead of Christian Bethancourt's two run bomb. That put the good guys within one. The inning should have ended with Andrew Cashner's strikeout, but the pitch was wild and Cash took first. Jon Jay followed that with a double to right. Cashner raced around the bases, and that's when the umps in San Diego and New York screwed up.

The Mets got one of those runs back in the sixth off a double by Matt Harvey and another RBI single from Cabrera. Bethancourt narrowed their lead to one again in the seventh. He doubled and advanced to third on a fly out, and then a balk by Jim Henderson sent him home.

In the eighth, the Padres looked ready to take the lead. Jon Jay, Wil Myers, and Matt Kemp started the inning with three consecutive singles. The tying run seemed guaranteed to score, and the go ahead was likely. But then Derek Norris struck out. Melvin Upton popped out to first. And then Alexei Ramirez struck out. Bases loaded, nobody out, down by one run, and the Friars did nothing.

So that's how the Padres ended the series with a split. It was a decent enough homestand with the team going 6-4, but the flight to Chicago tonight won't be a happy one. Cesar Vargas starts the series against the Cubs at 5:05 PM tomorrow.