SAN DIEGO _ In their last game of the season's first month, the Mets offered a glimpse of what they hope is to come with a 14-2 win over the Padres on Sunday.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler, who opened the season in the minors, made his case as perhaps the team's third-best starter behind Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. He tossed five innings of two-run ball, striking out nine.
First baseman Adrian Gonzalez, facing the prospect of decreased playing time as the Mets plot playing Jay Bruce at first occasionally, contributed his biggest game as a Met. He went 3-for-5 with a homer, a double and five RBIs.
And as the bullpen locked it down with four shutout innings, the batters blew it open late to set season highs in runs, hits (19) and steals (four). Nine Mets position players _ every starter, plus Brandon Nimmo _ had at least two hits.
The Mets finished April _ they're off Monday before opening a homestand against the Braves and Rockies _ at 17-9, leading the NL East by 1 { games.
They put the pressure on San Diego with runs early and often, including one in the first (Jay Bruce RBI single), one in the second (Tomas Nido RBI single) and two in the third (Gonzalez two-run double). Five-spots in the seventh and eighth _ highlighted by homers from Gonzalez, Todd Frazier and Jose Reyes _ against the rebuilding Padres' bullpen turned it into a laugher.
Wheeler bounced back from a 30-pitch, two-walk first inning to last five frames. He scattered six hits and didn't walk another batter.
The bullpen, without Jeurys Familia and Seth Lugo for the day, turned in four scoreless behind Wheeler. Matt Harvey pitched the ninth, his first scoreless relief appearance in three tries.
The only blemish to an otherwise enjoyable afternoon for the Mets was an injury to leftfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who left the game in the third inning with a sore left thumb.
Cespedes appeared to hurt himself while sliding into third base on a steal in the top of the third. He was briefly tended to by an athletic trainer, but stayed in the game and scored.
