Wednesday is the Mets' series finale against the Mariners, but that doesn't mean it's too early to look ahead. After all, the Mets have an important road series against the Padres this weekend, which could shake up the National League Wild Card race depending on how things unfold. After all, as of writing, San Diego holds the NL's No. 1 wild-card spot with a 32-27 record, leading a pack of eight teams separated by two games. New York is right under that group, sitting 6.5 games back of a potential postseason spot. Interestingly, the Padres are looking vulnerable, going 1-7 in their last eight games before facing the Phillies on Wednesday evening. Needless to say, winning this weekend could mean big things for the Mets' outlook. Even though the series in San Diego won't begin until Friday, the Mets have already given some insight into their plans by announcing their first two starters who'll take on the Padres. Let's take a look at them, as well as a prediction for the series finale's starter. Friday, June 5 (9:40 p.m. ET): Christian Scott (NYM) vs. Michael King (SD)Christian Scott will aim for his second win of his career when he faces the Padres on Friday. | Sam Navarro-Imagn ImagesAfter 16 big-league starters, Christian Scott finally notching his first MLB win just a few days ago. The 26-year-old right-handed hurler didn't give the Marlins much of anything in a 6-1 win on May 30, tying his career-high of eight strikeouts while only allowing one earned run on five hits and two walks in five innings of work. Scott is now 1-0 with a 2.97 ERA through seven starts this season, all while averaging an impressive 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings. His ERA on the road (2.79) is slightly better than it is at Citi Field (3.27), which should give Mets fans hope heading into the series opener. Standing opposite Scott will be Michael King, who's in a bit of a rut. After going 4-2 with a 2.31 ERA in his first 10 starts, the Boston College product has imploded in the last two weeks, allowing nine earned runs and two homers on 10 hits while issuing five walks in 9 2/3 innings across two appearances—good for an 8.38 ERA. Let's also not ignore that King is winless in seven all-time meetings (three starts) against the Mets. The two losses he's credited with occurred in his last pair of clashes with New York, allowing nine earned runs, five homers, 13 hits and a walk across eight innings. The most recent meeting was an 8-3 beatdown in favor of the Mets last season. Given how King has performed lately, the Mets have to like the advantage that Scott will give them in them in the opener. Saturday, June 6 (10:10 p.m. ET): Nolan McLean (NYM) vs. Griffin Canning (SD)After back-to-back losses to the Nationals and Reds, Nolan McLean finally returned to the win column this past Sunday. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound righty pitched five solid innings in a 10-1 win over the Marlins, striking out a pair of batters while only allowing one earned run on two hits. The five walks he issued show that some command concerns remain, but it was an encouraging outing, nonetheless. How will Nolan McLean build on his latest effort when he faces the Padres on Saturday? | Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesAnd much like Scott, McLean's road ERA (3.86) is better than what he's doing at home (4.46) this season. In fact, he's allowed only one earned run in three of his five away outings so far. Meanwhile, New York's batters are likely licking their lips at the idea of facing Griffin Canning this weekend. The Mets' former pitcher—who went 7-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 16 starts with them last season—hasn't been nearly as effective with the Padres, sitting 0-4 with a 7.16 ERA through six starts. Opposing batters are having a field day with Canning, slashing .267/.358/.495 with a 92.4 mph average exit velocity and a 48.7% hard-hit rate. Canning has settled down a bit after allowing 13 earned runs in his first three starts (11 innings), but he's still given up a trio of ERs in each of his last three appearances, so he's still susceptible. The Padres also don't offer him much run support, averaging 1.83 runs in the games he's started so far. Still, Canning did go 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two outings vs. the Mets while he was with the Angels a few years back, and that type of history can't be ignored. Still, his recent poor performances should give New York some confidence. Sunday, June 7 (4:10 p.m. ET): Sean Manaea * (NYM) vs. Randy Vasquez * (SD)* denotes a projection. Although the Mets and Padres haven't officially unveiled the starters for the series finale at the time of writing, ESPN projects that Sean Manaea and Randy Vásquez will start for their respective teams on Sunday. Can Sean Manaea throw another solid performance for the Mets? | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesManaea most recently pitched the bulk of a bullpen game against the Mariners on Monday. After Austin Warren pitched the opening frame, Manaea came in to give the Mets five innings of work, striking out four batters while allowing one earned run on as many hits. It's a small sample size, but the Valparaiso, IN native has solidly pitched to a 2.70 ERA in his last five outings (16 2/3 innings), surrendering only five earned runs and 12 hits with 18 strikeouts. And that's without mentioning Manaea's history against San Diego, as he's 5-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 11 games (eight starts) vs. the Padres, having not lost to them since August 2021. As for Vásquez, the ex-Yankee is one win away from his previous career high, with a 5-3 record and 3.31 ERA through 12 starts. However, after a decent start to May, the 27-year-old righty's play started to slip, allowing nine earned runs in 15 innings across his last three starts, failing to be credited with a win while going 0-2 at Petco Park in those appearances. The Mets have also proven that they can handle Vásquez not that long ago. New York shelled the San Diego hurler to the tune of four earned runs on as many hits in 2 1/3 innings on Sept. 18, 2025, which resulted in a 6-1 win for the Mets. Lightning might not strike twice, but that past experience could have Vásquez looking shaky this weekend. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow