The 2022 MLB playoffs are upon us after a long, hard season but there are still eight teams vying for a place in the final bracket.
The Tampa Bay Rays will face off against the Cleveland Guardians, the Seattle Mariners will clash against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies will match up with the St Louis Cardinals. But we're going to focus on the big series between the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets.
We'll break down the teams' seasons so far and how we expect the series to go to provide you with our best free MLB picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash for the weekend.
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MLB Playoffs Wild Card
The 2022 MLB Playoffs are finally here. However, they look slightly different this season due to sweeping changes in the latest collective bargaining agreement and fans should be excited about what is to come.
The playoffs have expanded to 12 teams, with first-round byes awarded to teams with the two best records in each league.
There are no more sudden death Wild Card rounds, instead replaced by a pair of three-game Wild Card series in each league.
San Diego Padres vs New York Mets series information
- Game 1: Friday October 7, @ New York, 20:07 ET
- Game 2: Saturday October 8, @ New York, 19:37 ET
- Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday October 9, @ New York, 19:37 ET
San Diego Padres season so far
The Padres had a strong season until they essentially collapsed in the middle of the season, which is probably the reason they're here in the post season.
They opened the season with a strong 14-8 record in April, overcoming a run of four defeats in five games to go on a streak of nine wins in the next 11 games to start. They followed that up with a 16-11 record in May but alternated wins and losses across a nine game run in the middle of the month. Then there was a five game win streak, before they lost five of their next seven.
The Padres then went 27-27 across June and July, before going 16-13 in August to get back on track. September was similar, going 13-12, before finishing off the season 3-2 in October.
That saw them end the regular season with a record of 89-73, finishing second behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Check out how to bet on the San Diego Padres here.
New York Mets season so far
A tough June and September have ultimately cost the Queens side their place at the top of the NL East.
They opened their season strong with a 15-7 record in April, including four different 3+ game winning streaks, before going 19-10 in May with some impressive play from their key players. June wasn't so kind though, going 13-12 with four plus runs of 2 or more consecutive defeats.
They bounced back in July and August going a combined 36-19 to really get back on track for the title, but ultimately a poor September saw them go 15-11 and throw it all away before ending the season 3-2 in October.
That gave them a regular season record of 101-61 overall, identical to the Atlanta Braves, but ultimately finishing behind them.
MLB Picks - Mets to win the seriesPicks
The New York Mets could and should have won the NL East but instead find themselves in the Wild Card round due to some poor play in September.
However, this does not change the fact that the club from the Big Apple is a nightmare scenario for any opposing team in a short series, given the presence of Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. Over the last two weeks, the Cy Young duo have shown themselves to be human, which could give their opponents more confidence than usual heading into this series.
New York has a lethal combination near the top of their lineup in Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. The pair of infielders have combined for over 230 RBIs and are the engine that makes the Mets offense go. Unfortunately, neither player has played well down the stretch, which played a considerable role during the Mets’ September slump.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres have struggled since the trade deadline. The team locked up their postseason berth late in September, following a loss.
The Padres offense is led by Manny Machado, who posted his sixth 30-homer season this year. However, after mortgaging their future to acquire Juan Soto, the former National has struggled, posting a slugging percentage under .400 with San Diego.
If the Padres are going to advance in the playoffs, they will need their offense to start clicking in a hurry while getting solid performances from Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell. All of them are capable of going toe to toe with the best pitchers in the league.
With that said, the Mets should be way too strong and I'd be stunned to see them not progress to the next round, so back them to win the series comfortably.
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