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Freddy Peralta’s first season in Queens, after coming over in a blockbuster offseason trade with the expectation of immediately becoming the Mets’ ace, has not lived up to those expectations so far.
After failing to complete five innings on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox for the third consecutive start in his final outing of the first half, Peralta enters the break 5-8 with a 4.66 ERA (1.44 WHIP) in 20 starts.
It’s not at all what New York thought it was trading for after the right-hander had his best season in Milwaukee last season, going 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA (1.08 WHIP).
“It’s a terrible feeling coming out before the fifth inning,” Peralta said after the 4-0 loss. “I’ve been struggling and I’m just working on trying to navigate through this. It’s been difficult, but not impossible for me.
“I never lose the hope. Just keep working; that’s what I keep telling myself and at some point I’m gonna navigate through it.”
Despite the short outing, Peralta only allowed two earned runs on three hits, with both of the runs coming on a two-run homer in the fourth inning. He also struck out six and had interim manager Andy Green encouraged with his performance because of the electricity on his fastball and the swing-and-misses he garnered.
What plagued Peralta were the walks – he had five of them, which has been a problem that comes and goes for the 30-year-old this season. In 104.1 innings this year, Peralta has issued 44 walks, nine of which have come in three starts this month.
Peralta spoke about the free passes after the game, saying he felt “a little bit out of balance” with his legs today after feeling good in the first two innings.
“If he’s able to pump the zone full of strikes with that fastball, he’s going to pitch really deep into the game,” Green said about his right-hander. “It wasn’t a lot of damage [today], the one swing got a fastball kinda down and in… outside of that there was just his pitch count getting deep, [and the] walks.
“I thought it was very encouraging to see real life on his heater and seeing so many swings and misses on his fastball.”
Green continued, regarding Peralta’s fastball: “That is a pathway to getting away from the walks going forward, so we’re encouraged with that. To me, it’s just keep attacking the zone, keep trusting the stuff, the fastball really plays and beat a lot of guys up today.”
With the trust of his manager, Peralta will continue to work on the things he needs to work on to get back to last year’s dominance, something the Mets have only seen in flashes this season. And with New York out of contention with the trade deadline looming, Peralta knows that he’s not only pitching for the Mets, but possibly for another team that is looking to acquire a starting pitcher for their own playoff push.
While he’s not looking ahead at something like that happening, instead focused on his own results and how to get better, he knows things can change quickly.
“I think so far I haven’t done what I’m supposed to do,” Peralta said. “I’m working on it. It’s crazy because at the end of the day, everything can change, talking about myself and my season. I’m just focused on that and I trust myself, and I know that I can turn it around.”
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After failing to complete five innings on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox for the third consecutive start in his final outing of the first half, Peralta enters the break 5-8 with a 4.66 ERA (1.44 WHIP) in 20 starts.
It’s not at all what New York thought it was trading for after the right-hander had his best season in Milwaukee last season, going 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA (1.08 WHIP).
“It’s a terrible feeling coming out before the fifth inning,” Peralta said after the 4-0 loss. “I’ve been struggling and I’m just working on trying to navigate through this. It’s been difficult, but not impossible for me.
“I never lose the hope. Just keep working; that’s what I keep telling myself and at some point I’m gonna navigate through it.”
Despite the short outing, Peralta only allowed two earned runs on three hits, with both of the runs coming on a two-run homer in the fourth inning. He also struck out six and had interim manager Andy Green encouraged with his performance because of the electricity on his fastball and the swing-and-misses he garnered.
What plagued Peralta were the walks – he had five of them, which has been a problem that comes and goes for the 30-year-old this season. In 104.1 innings this year, Peralta has issued 44 walks, nine of which have come in three starts this month.
Peralta spoke about the free passes after the game, saying he felt “a little bit out of balance” with his legs today after feeling good in the first two innings.
“If he’s able to pump the zone full of strikes with that fastball, he’s going to pitch really deep into the game,” Green said about his right-hander. “It wasn’t a lot of damage [today], the one swing got a fastball kinda down and in… outside of that there was just his pitch count getting deep, [and the] walks.
“I thought it was very encouraging to see real life on his heater and seeing so many swings and misses on his fastball.”
Green continued, regarding Peralta’s fastball: “That is a pathway to getting away from the walks going forward, so we’re encouraged with that. To me, it’s just keep attacking the zone, keep trusting the stuff, the fastball really plays and beat a lot of guys up today.”
With the trust of his manager, Peralta will continue to work on the things he needs to work on to get back to last year’s dominance, something the Mets have only seen in flashes this season. And with New York out of contention with the trade deadline looming, Peralta knows that he’s not only pitching for the Mets, but possibly for another team that is looking to acquire a starting pitcher for their own playoff push.
While he’s not looking ahead at something like that happening, instead focused on his own results and how to get better, he knows things can change quickly.
“I think so far I haven’t done what I’m supposed to do,” Peralta said. “I’m working on it. It’s crazy because at the end of the day, everything can change, talking about myself and my season. I’m just focused on that and I trust myself, and I know that I can turn it around.”
Continue reading...
