Jonah Tong Shines, Pete Alonso Homers as Mets Extend NL Wild Card Lead with 6-1 Win Over Padres (Sept. 18, 2025)

Thursday, September 18th, 2025

New York Mets Defeat San Diego Padres 6-1, Boost Playoff Chances

The New York Mets secured a key 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on September 18, 2025, at Citi Field, strengthening their grip on the final National League playoff spot. The win also brought the Mets within four games of second wild card holders, the Padres.

Jonah Tong Delivers Strong Performance

Mets starting pitcher Jonah Tong bounced back from a rough previous outing to deliver five impressive innings. Tong allowed just one unearned run on four hits and tallied eight strikeouts. Notably, starting with Luis Arráez’s sacrifice fly in the third inning, Tong retired the final eight batters he faced, striking out five in that stretch. With this outing, Tong became the first Mets pitcher aged 22 or younger to strike out at least eight batters in a game since Noah Syndergaard accomplished the feat in 2015.

Power Surge: Alonso and Nimmo Go Deep

Pete Alonso continued his home run tear, homering for the fourth straight game in the first inning and later adding a sacrifice fly to his tally in the seventh. Brandon Nimmo added a 389-foot two-run homer, his 24th of the season, tying his career high set in 2023. Juan Soto reached a milestone as well, notching his 100th RBI of the season with a tie-breaking groundout in the third inning.

Padres Struggle to Capitalize

Padres starter Randy Vásquez struggled, allowing four runs in just 2 1/3 innings. The Padres offense managed only four hits and a single unearned run, hampered by Tong’s dominant performance.

Mets Strengthen Wild Card Lead

With the Arizona Diamondbacks idle, the Mets expanded their lead to two games for the third wild card spot while also closing the gap on the Padres for the second wild card slot.

Key Moment

Brandon Nimmo’s 24th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the third inning, tied his career high previously set in 2023 and helped break the game open for the Mets.

Key Stat

Jonah Tong is the youngest Mets pitcher since 2015 to record eight or more strikeouts in a game, demonstrating poise and dominance at age 22.

Up Next

The San Diego Padres head to Chicago to face the White Sox, with right-hander Dylan Cease (8-11, 4.59 ERA) starting against his former team. The Mets begin their final home series against the Washington Nationals, where rookie right-hander Brandon Sproat (0-1, 2.25 ERA) will take on Nationals left-hander Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 1.15 ERA).

In summary

The New York Mets’ 6-1 triumph over the San Diego Padres featured strong pitching from Jonah Tong, power hitting from Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo, and a significant milestone from Juan Soto. This win gives the Mets crucial momentum in the National League playoff race, extending their wild card lead and improving their postseason prospects as the season heads toward its climax.

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