Front Row Seat: Padres get comeback, walk-off win vs. Mets

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Series Preview: Mets at Padres

The San Diego Padres welcome the New York Mets to Petco Park tonight to kick off their first matchup of the season.

Section 1904John Gennaro

Weekend Recap: Can the Padres make the playoffs without a trade?

It’s the always-free weekend recap show, this time with plenty of trade deadline talk!

Section 1904Darren Smith

San Diego Padres

Padres rally in ninth inning to beat Mets, pick up Dylan Cease - San Diego Union-Tribune
With one out, a grounder by Francisco Lindor that flew off the bat at 100 mph bounced up and hit Cease on the back of the head as he turned to try to avoid the ball.

Cease immediately crumpled to the dirt and remained sitting on the side of the mound, as the ball caromed high into the air and landed near the third base coach’s box. That allowed Lindor to race to second, where he slid in ahead of Manny Machado’s throw.

Cease was still sitting when two members of the athletic training staff and Shildt reached the mound, though he quickly rose. After a minute, he walked around the infield and then threw some warmup pitches before play resumed.

King declares himself '100%' after three-inning sim game - Padres.com
King was the Padres’ Opening Day starter, and he posted a 2.59 ERA across 10 starts this season prior to his injury. It is genuinely difficult to imagine a more impactful move the Padres could make than adding a fully healthy King to their roster. And according to the man himself, that’s precisely what he is right now.

“I’m 100%,” King said. “... I haven’t had any real pain. It’s just that obviously the muscle just wasn’t firing. So now that it’s going, it’s really just trying to get my feet under me and make sure I’m progressing as fast as possible.”

Padres, with deadline looming, face key decisions on Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez - The Athletic
As of late Monday, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller still seemed to be aiming high. League sources said the Padres remained among the teams in pursuit of Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan. Meanwhile, despite reports that the Boston Red Sox had taken Jarren Duran off the market, San Diego continued to express interest in the longtime target. Preller, famous for his exhaustiveness, was also said to be considering such commodities as high-end relief and starting-pitching depth.

The Main Characters of the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline - The Ringer
No figure in all of baseball has done more to keep the hot stove burning in recent times than Preller. He hasn’t made a move yet this year, but this is the same guy who traded for Juan Soto in 2022 and then sent him to the Bronx in 2023. Preller has also traded for Josh Hader, Jason Adam, Tanner Scott, Dylan Cease, and Luis Arraez in the past three years. The Padres are currently four games back in their division and sit in the heart of the National League wild-card race. Preller has some notable players on expiring contracts, such as Cease and Arraez, and his lineup lacks power and needs upgrading if the Padres are going to compete in October. Preller already reportedly tried to make a blockbuster move for Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, but Boston apparently rejected it.

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