SAN DIEGO — A rare overcast summer day in this city was a precursor to Tyson Ross sticking it to the Mets where the sun doesn’t shine.
The 27-year-old right-hander provided few openings for the Mets, who only could shrug off their 6-0 loss to the Padres at Petco Park on Saturday that snapped a four-game winning streak.
Ross, an All-Star and bright spot in what has been a dismal Padres season, allowed just four hits over seven shutout innings to frustrate the Mets (46-51) in their attempt to inch closer to .500.
“He did a great job,” Lucas Duda said. “He was locating, throwing 95-96 mph. You tip your cap — he was pitching solid today.”
The Mets’ only real chance against Ross (8-10) came in the seventh, when they loaded the bases with two outs before Ruben Tejada struck out.
Through the first 6¹/₃ innings, the Mets had just two hits against Ross. Duda and Juan Lagares then each singled in the seventh, with a Kirk Nieuwenhuis walk in between.
For Ross, who struck out six and walked three over seven innings, it was the sixth straight start in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer. The Mets were shut out for the first time since June 14, when the Padres beat them 5-0 at Citi Field.
In his second start since coming off the disabled list, Dillon Gee (4-2) allowed four earned runs on five hits over five innings with eight strikeouts. The Padres homered twice against Gee and hit another against Carlos Torres.
“It was just a bad night,” Gee said. “I wasn’t locating there for awhile. I pitched behind the guys, and it makes it tough when I do that, but the positive side is I felt strong in the last six hitters, so hopefully I can continue to carry that into my next start.”
It was a second straight mediocre performance by a Mets starting pitcher. A night earlier, Bartolo Colon — bothered by an upset stomach — lasted five innings and allowed four earned runs. Entering play, Mets starting pitchers were 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA in July.
Gee had not allowed four earned runs in a start since April 11 in Anaheim, Calif., when he gave up four over 5²/₃ innings.
“He was around the plate a lot and a couple of balls he just left in the middle of the plate,” manager Terry Collins said. “He had one start [since returning] and hadn’t pitched in seven days, so it’s kind of a tough outing.”
Seth Smith greeted Torres with a homer leading off the sixth that extended the Padres’ lead to 5-0. The anemic Padres (42-55) had scored five runs in a game just once since July 1.
Will Venable’s homer leading off the fourth put the Mets in a 4-0 hole. For Gee, it meant a third start this season in which he allowed at least two homers.
Gee was scuffed up for three singles in the third inning, when the Padres scored twice to take a 3-0 lead. Chase Headley delivered an RBI single to left, and Nieuwenhuis threw to third base on the play. But the bag was uncovered, and Nieuwenhuis’ throw rolled into the dugout, allowing a second run to score.
“With the pitcher at second base I think Ruben [Tejada] thought we had a play at the plate,” Collins said. “He was watching the runner instead of picking up the throw, because the throw came in and he hadn’t even turned yet.”
Yasmani Grandal’s homer leading off the second — estimated as the longest blast at Petco Park this season (440 feet) — gave the Padres a 1-0 lead. The homer was only the second allowed by Gee over his last seven starts.