Padres sweep Mets ahead of trade deadline

If the San Diego Padres were trying to send a message to their front office that this is a team worth investing in ahead of tomorrow's trade deadline, that message was loud and clear today.

The Padres finished off a three-game sweep of the Mets at home in which they scored 19 runs and gave up just 7. Yu Darvish, who had been shaky since returning from an elbow injury, pitched a near-flawless 7 innings, striking out 7 batters and throwing just 76 pitches.

Manny Machado, who continues to have his best season since 2022, got things started with a 2-RBI single in the 2nd inning after a two-out fielding error by Francisco Lindor.

Gavin Sheets, back in the lineup after a day off yesterday, hit a home run to the deepest part of the ballpark for 2 of the Padres runs:

With that, the Padres chased Mets SP Clay Holmes before the end of the 4th inning.

Jason Adam and Robert Suarez, neither of whom pitched yesterday, were called on to pitch the 8th and 9th innings with the day off tomorrow.

Over this five-game winning streak, the Padres have scored at least 5 runs in four of the games. They've also given up 2 runs or less in four of the games. They're winning because the offense is coming to life and the pitching is doing its thing.

We'll see if the Padres make any sort of move before tomorrow's deadline or if this run has convinced them that they have enough offense and pitching, with Michael King set to make a rehab start in the minors this weekend, to be formidable come playoff time.