Padres Cool Off Mets

Jake Peavy must be the [Iceman] (pictured), because the San Diego starter cooled off the recently ablaze New York Mets last night, striking out 11 in the [Padres’ 7-5 win](http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270822121). The Blue and Orange entered the contest having won four straight games and eight out of nine, but Peavy—second in baseball with an infinitesimal 2.19 ERA—tossed six strong innings, allowing just two hits and two runs in the victory.

Carlos Beltran stayed hot, collecting two hits and three RBIs for the Mets, and Jose Reyes set New York’s single-season record for steals after swiping his 65th, 66th and 67th bags, but it wasn’t enough to overcome rough performances by starter Brian Lawrence and reliever Guillermo Mota. Lawrence surrendered four runs in five innings to the feeble Padres offense and Mota allowed three more runs in just two innings of work, as the Mets failed to complete a sweep of San Diego.

Luckily for New York, both Philadelphia and Atlanta—the two teams chasing them in the NL East—completely suck and lost again last night. Subsequently, the Mets [maintained their five-game lead] in the division and they’ll look to both thaw and increase that lead when they battle a tough LA Dodgers squad this weekend.