David Peterson returned to the Mets as a starter for the first time since May 15. The left-hander entered Tuesday’s start with an ERA over 8.00.
After early trouble in a bases-loaded jam with two walks, Peterson induced a double play ball to shortstop to get out of the inning scoreless.
From there, Peterson mixed his breaking ball well to adjust through the lineup. The left-hander tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just five hits with five strikeouts. His 110 pitches were also a career high.
“Getting sent down and having things to work on,” Peterson said on his return from Triple-A.” Coming back up and getting to put those things to use. The defense was incredible.”
“He had some movement,” Buck Showalter said of Peterson’s performance. “He got a lot of ground balls. Surviving the first inning was probably the difference.”
The evolution in 2023 of Peterson’s slider marked a priority and the pitch allowed for success on Tuesday night.
“A big one was the slider,” Peterson said. “It wasn’t sharp at the beginning. Getting back to where I needed to be with that pitch.”
Peterson noted that being sent down to the minors still allowed him to grow and work on aspects of his arsenal.
“It’s big,” Peterson said. “When I got sent down, I had some things to figure out. It was a great opportunity to learn and grow. I felt good mechanically and it was nice when I settled in.”
With pitching depth as a necessity for the Mets to make a run, Showalter emphasized the impact of Peterson’s potential.
“Everybody likes to feel good about themselves,” Showalter said. “We need him and Tylor and everybody to be more than depth. I’m hoping it’s a springboard to doing what he is capable of doing.”