Saturday’s outing was a bit of a mixed bag for Freddy Peralta.
The right-hander did well to save the Mets’ bullpen by completing seven-full innings for the first time this season, but he was knocked around a bit by the Marlins.
Peralta allowed four runs on two walks and a season-high eight hits in a 4-1 loss.
Half of those runs came via the long ball, as Miami’s breakout slugger Liam Hicks jumped him for a pair of solo shots to right-center in the bottom of the third and the fifth.
Peralta’s now allowed eight homers to start the season, four of which have come over his last three times out.
“I never want to give up homers, but it happens,” he said. “The second one I made a big mistake on the curveball, I shook on the pitch and should’ve executed better, but it happens and I just learn from it.”
The veteran righty did rebound nicely following that second blast, as he retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced to close his longest outing of the season on a high note.
He also set season-highs in pitches (108) and strikeouts (nine).
Despite the shaky showing in the book, Carlos Mendoza liked what he saw from the top of the the rotation arm.
“I thought he was better than the line score, to be honest,” the skipper said. “That second inning a couple of grounders found holes, the breaking ball for the homer, but overall he goes seven innings and he competed.”
Peralta kept the Mets within striking distance, but the offense didn’t do him any favors, as they managed just one run in the ninth on three hits and three walks against Max Meyer and Miami’s bullpen.
As has been the case for the majority of the season to this point, the continued struggles putting runs on the board left the Mets’ starter with a razor thin margin for error.
They’ve been held to one run or less a league-worst 14 times this season.
“You just gotta keep going,” Carlos Mendoza said. “You can’t sit here and feel sorry for yourself, yeah we get frustrated at times, but you just gotta continue to go.”
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