MLB Baseball
2026-08-18 - San Diego Padres at New York Mets
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Tuesday 18th August 2026 - Scheduled 7:10pm EST
12:10pm (British Time)
Preview
At the beginning of the season when the schedule would have been analysed, both of these National League teams would have seen this series as being one involving two who are chasing Playoff spots.
It has been a shocking season for the New York Mets (57-69) and a reminder that throwing a lot of money at players is not going to guarantee strong results. Instead of fighting for a Playoff spot, the Mets are 17.5 games behind the leaders in the National League East and 10 games out of the Wild Card places, which lead to the Mets trading some key players away at the deadline.
The season may not end quickly enough for Mets fans, but the team are still playing hard with six wins in the last eight games, including the last four in a row. New York remain dangerous to those who are hoping for a strong end to the season and one of those is the San Diego Padres (67-59) who are in the midst of a huge fight to earn a Wild Card spot.
A six game winning run has been followed by two losses in three games, including in the opener of this series, but the Padres will be confident in handing the ball to Robbie Ray.
The starter arrived in a trade from National League West rivals San Francisco Giants after Robbie Ray had put together a 10-6 record and 3.08 ERA in twenty-two appearances this season. Twenty-one have been in starts and Ray is now preparing for his third start for the San Diego Padres in what continues to be a learning process in a new uniform.
Robbie Ray had been chewing through the Innings with the Giants before the trade, but he has only managed 9 Innings in two starts for the Padres and allowed six runs.
Earlier this season, Robbie Ray pitched into the 6th Inning and held the New York Mets to two runs as he picked up the decision win against them.
The Mets will go with a rookie on Tuesday as they hand the ball to Zac Thornton to make his ninth start of 2026 and try and improve the 3-3 record and 2.78 ERA.
Since approaching the trade deadline, the Mets became more and more keen to see Zac Thornton in real Major League action. However, there has been more tape for opponents to study and that has meant Thornton has given up three runs in three of the last four starts, while picking up two decision losses in three August starts.
This is the first time Zac Thornton will be facing the San Diego Padres in his career.
He will take confidence from the fact that the opening win in this series means the New York Mets have won three of the four regular season games against the San Diego Padres.
Prediction
The New York Mets are continuing to make things awkward for opponents even as their own season is coming to an end at the conclusion of the regular season.
There are players looking to show management they can remain a part of a team that will be expecting a much better 2027 than 2026 and Zac Thornton could become a key part of the starting rotation.
The rookie has pitched well this season, but Robbie Ray may keep the San Diego Padres right in this game and allow the Wild Card chasing team to level up this series.
The Pick :
New York Mets 2-3 San Diego Padres
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back San Diego Padres to Win at -111 with BetOnline
