Padres chase Scherzer early, cruise past Mets 7-1 in Game 1 of NL wild-card series

The Padres' bats were alive early against future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer. San Diego blasted four home runs off the Mets' star pitcher, chasing him from the game in the fifth inning en route to a shocking series-opening victory. 

After taking an early 3-0 lead after two innings, the Padres blew the game wide open in the fifth, tallying four runs in the inning to take a commanding 7-0 advantage.

The Mets got on the board in the bottom half of the fifth when Eduardo Escobar connected on a solo home run, but it was the only run New York could muster. Escobar and Starling Marte finished with two hits on the night, leading the Mets' offensive effort. 

Meanwhile, Scherzer lasted just 4.2 innings on Saturday night, allowing seven earned runs off seven hits. 

Six different Padres tallied hits in the win over the Mets, including home runs from Josh Bell, Trent Grisham, Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado. Profar led the way for the Friars' offense, finishing the day 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored batting out of the lead-off position. 

Lost in the Padres' offensive onslaught was the pitching of starter Yu Darvish. Darvish went 7.0 innings Friday night, allowing just one earned run off six hits while striking out four. 

The Padres will look for the series sweep on Saturday night when they return to Citi Field for Game 2 against the Mets at 7:37 p.m.