Would he finally be the dominant pitcher the Padres need, the dominant pitcher he has been in past seasons? No start was more anticipated than Monday night’s against the Mets, three days before the trade deadline.

With the trade deadline and an off day looming on Thursday, the Mets gave an empty effort and were swept by the Padres at Petco Park.

San Diego swept the three-game series and exposed nearly every one of the Mets’ weaknesses in the process. Yu Darvish (1-3) allowed only two hits over seven shutout innings. Mark Vientos was the only hitter in the top half of the Mets lineup to record a hit,