The Padres equaled one high of 2008 and topped another Monday night while ruining the Mets' first game at Citi Field.
The win was San Diego's fifth in a row, equaling its longest winning streak of 2008. And at 6-2 after eight games, the Padres are four games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2007 season. You have to look no further than the top two spots in the batting order to find reasons for the Padres' turnaround.
After the first four games of the season, the leadoff men at the top of the Padres' batting order had reached base one time in 17 plate appearances. Over the last four games, the center-field platoon of Jody Gerut (3-for-8, two walks) and Scott Hairston (4-for-8, a walk) has gone 7-for-16 with a .526 on-base percentage. Each has also scored three runs with a homer.
And David Eckstein has gone 7-for-19 in the No. 2 slot during the five-game winning streak, with four doubles and three RBI. This follows a 1-for-9 start to the season.
PADRES 6, METS 5: After blowing a four-run lead, the Padres struck for the tie-breaking run in the sixth on a three-base error and a balk to ruin the Mets' opening of Citi Field. Probably enjoying the win the most in the Padres clubhouse were former Mets relievers Duaner Sanchez and Heath Bell, who worked a perfect eighth and ninth, respectively, to cap 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief by the Padres' bullpen.
