NEW YORK _ The Padres welcomed Noah Syndergaard on Wednesday.
A night after they were baffled by Jason Vargas, whose fastball average of 84.8 mph is slowest among major league starters, the Padres battered the majors' hardest-throwing starter.
Syndergaard's fastball averages 97.7 mph. His sinker runs just a little slower, and his slider routinely touches 90.
The Padres hit all of them enough to get well on their way to a 7-2 victory over the Mets on Wednesday night at Citi Field, just the third time in 11 games since the All-Star break that the Padres have won.
The Mets took a 1-0 lead two batters in against Padres starter Dinelson Lamet and added a run on a double, wild pitch and groundout in the third inning.
In between, the Padres scored four runs off Syndergaard, the 26-year-old right-hander who they have discussed acquiring either before Wednesday's trade deadline or in the offseason.
Syndergaard would end up allowing just the four runs (three earned) on eight hits and five walks (one intentional) while striking out eight in seven innings, showing with his third start in a row and eighth this season that lasted that long the kind of length the Padres have lacked this year and most years in the past decade.
On this night, what was important to the Padres is that Syndergaard provided them with enough pitches to hit.
The Padres entered game with the fourth-highest OPS in the majors (.855) on pitches 94 mph or faster, and they didn't slow down.
Hunter Renfroe lined a 96 mph slider into left field to start the second inning. He went to second on Franmil Reyes' walk and third when Luis Urias grounded into a double play. Austin Hedges' single, on a 99 mph fastball, tied the game.
Manuel Margot drew a one-out walk in the third and stole second and third during Manny Machado's walk.
Then Eric Hosmer got enough of a Syndergaard fastball to send it to center field for a sacrifice fly that scored Margot. Renfroe followed with another single, on a 90 mph slider, that scored Machado.
Renfroe got to second as his hit skidded under Mets left fielder Dominic Smith's glove. So when Reyes sent a 98 mph sinker to the wall in left field, Renfroe scored easily to give the Padres a 4-1 lead.
At 80 pitches in just his fourth start since returning from a nearly 15-month absence following Tommy John surgery, Lamet was lifted after four innings.
Matt Strahm (4-7) replaced him and struck out four in two perfect innings to earn the victory.
Singles by pinch-hitter Ian Kinsler (90 mph change-up) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (98 mph sinker) began the seventh inning, but both were stranded as Syndergaard navigated a fourth straight scoreless inning.
That led to a perilous bottom of the seventh as Craig Stammen surrendered a one-out double and loaded the bases with a pair of two-out walks in between striking out the side.
The Padres added two runs in the eighth against Jeurys Familia. Luis Urias walked and scored on Hedges' double off the wall in center field, pinch-hitter Francisco Mejia moved Hedges to third with a single and Tatis skied a ball to left field that fell for an RBI single.
Rookie Andres Munoz walked Pete Alonso to start the bottom of the eighth but retired the next three batters to get through his fourth scoreless major league appearance for the Padres.
The Padres added a run in the ninth on a single by Machado, double by Hosmer and sacrifice fly by Renfroe.
Luis Perdomo worked a scoreless ninth.
