This is a 9* on SAN DIEGO

San Diego took the first two games of the series, but had no answers for Jacob deGrom on Saturday. That 4-0 loss was fine by us as we took the Under. But the Mets obviously can’t have deGrom pitch every day and the bottom line here is they are facing one of the top teams in baseball. The Padres allow just 3.4 runs per game, #1 in the league. They allow just 2.8 runs per game at home. There’s one team that allows fewer runs per game at home and it’s the best. But this game is in San Diego. The Padres are 20-11 at home this year. The Mets are 13-18 on the road. San Diego lost its final two games in May and first two here in June. Other than that four-game losing streak, there’s been just one other time since April 22nd when they dropped back to back games. All of those losses were on the road too. Look for Chris Paddack to bounce back today after a poor start at Wrigley Field. Paddack had allowed no more than one run in four consecutive starts before giving up five to the Cubs last weekend. Marcus Stroman has been good for the Mets, but we don’t see him getting much support from one of the NL’s weakest offenses. The Padres simply have more firepower at the plate and can be trusted when not going against deGrom. Play on SAN DIEGO

AAA