Mets’ late comeback efforts fall short against Padres

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports It was a tale of two games for the Mets in San Diego Thursday night, as the team looked a bit overmatched early by Yu Darvish and the Padres, only to come back late, with rallies in both the eighth and ninth innings, falling just short in a 4-3 defeat.

While Darvish cruised early—allowing only one walk through the first four innings—Taijuan Walker never quite looked comfortable throughout his game. Walker battled through the first two innings, stranding a pair of runners in each frame before the Padres finally broke through—barely—in the third.

After a leadoff walk to Manny Machado, Walker got Jake Cronenworth to fly out, bringing up the dangerous Fernando…