Eight months, two trades, one reunion
Freddy Peralta has changed uniforms twice since January. Tonight in St. Petersburg he pitches against the team that sat in the middle of that sequence.
The Mets acquired the right-hander from Milwaukee in January and got 22 starts of 5-9 baseball with a 4.99 ERA out of him. On 2 August, with their season sunk to the bottom of the National League East, they shipped him to Tampa Bay for three prospects. He makes his sixth start for the Rays tonight, against New York.
The history says he should enjoy it. Peralta has faced the Mets four times in his career and won all four, with a 2.70 ERA. His overall line this season reads 6-11 and 5.11, which is nowhere near the pitcher who won 17 games for the Brewers last year.
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Signs of the old Peralta in Detroit
His Rays tenure started badly in Colorado, steadied against the Athletics and Baltimore, then fell apart in a second meeting with the Orioles. Wednesday at Detroit was different. Six shutout innings, two hits, four strikeouts, two batters over the minimum, and a 3-0 win that gave him his first victory in Tampa Bay colours.
Liam Hicks caught it and thought he recognised the pitcher.
“I think it’s just (him having) confidence in his stuff,” Hicks said. “Everyone knows how good his stuff is, so just getting him in the zone and trusting. He’s got good stuff. (His change-up) is huge. If you can land that in the zone early, it just makes the fastball that much better. They call him ‘Freddy Fastball’ for a reason.”
The Rays sit 82-55. The Mets are 62-76 and took Monday’s opener 3-2 behind Robert Stock, who won a major league game for the first time since 2019, and a Mark Vientos homer in his return from a fractured hand.
New York have a prospect knocking
Stock’s grip on a rotation spot may not hold. Jonah Tong, the Mets’ second-ranked pitching prospect, came within one out of a no-hitter for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday before Kameron Misner singled off the right field wall. He struck out eight in the seven-inning 6-0 win over Lehigh Valley.
“The stuff has always been really, really good,” interim manager Andy Green said. “When he’s got velo, when he fills up the strike zone, he’s good. And he’s done that more consistently recently, so we’re encouraged by that.”
Rosters expand on Tuesday, and Tong could start against San Francisco on Friday. Tonight belongs to Sean Manaea, 4-6 with a 4.55 ERA on the season but 3-1 with a 2.02 mark in six career outings against the Rays. His August was uglier: 2-1, a 4.94 ERA and seven home runs allowed in 31 innings.
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