WHO CARES HOW EARLY IT IS, METS ARE ALL 1ST ALONE IN
Go for sweep of Phils today with Jake on hill
Edwin Diaz nails down 5-1 victory over Phils after David Peterson allows one run in six innings as Mets sit atop NL East all by themselves.
The Mets needed a bounceback effort from David Peterson on Wednesday after his lousy season debut last week. Peterson didn’t just rebound, he turned in his best performance as a Met.
The southpaw pitched six, twohit innings and matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts in the Mets’ 5-1 win over the Phillies. The last time Peterson recorded 10 whiffs was as a rookie last season, on Sept. 19 against the Braves. On Wednesday, he didn’t give up any walks and allowed just one run on a Jean Segura homer to left field in the fifth.
The Mets have won three straight games and are alone in first place in the NL East in the early stages on the season.
His last time out, Peterson allowed four runs to the Phillies in the first inning. Rhys Hoskins went 3-for-3 against the lefty with a home run and two doubles in Philly last week, but on Wednesday at Citi Field, Peterson struck him out in his first at-bat. The Mets starter said he made a mechanical tweak – keeping his front side strong instead of letting it ‘leak off’ – in between starts. The adjustment paid off; he retired 18 of 21 batters in his second start.
“I felt good,” Peterson said. “I thought James and I were on the same page pitch-wise. He did a hell of a job back there. I think getting ahead of guys and putting yourself in a good position leads to good results.”
Other than his mistake to Segura – a sinker left in the zone – Peterson was dominant and completely in control of his outing. Though he departed after the sixth inning after 80 pitches, his second start of the season was exactly what the Mets ordered. At 5-3, the Mets are alone in first place in the NL East.
Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker and Peterson have all turned in their first two starts of the year, which has resulted in a sofar strong Mets rotation that owns a 2.34 ERA.
Perhaps the biggest out of the night came in the seventh inning, with the ball in Aaron Loup’s hand.
Jeurys Familia started the seventh with the responsibility of protecting a one-run lead. He couldn’t complete the task after walking his leadoff batter – the one thing Mets manager Luis Rojas has repeatedly said Familia should stop doing in order to be successful – and giving up a single to Segura to put runners on the corners with one out. “We like Familia for that matchup particularly,” said Rojas, adding that he brought Familia in to face Alec Bohm and Segura. “We were ready to follow up with Loup if there was a fourth hitter in the inning.”
So the responsibility shifted to Loup, the next man out of the Mets’ unpredictable bullpen. Before Wednesday, Loup’s last and only relief appearance of the season was on Opening Day 2.0 against the Phillies, when he took the ball from Trevor May and allowed his two inherited runners to score.
On Wednesday against the Phillies, Loup was perfect – which was remarkable because it was his first time pitching in nine days. He induced a double-play ball to pinch-hitter Didi Gregorius to end the Phillies’ threat in the seventh and retired the side in the eighth, including two strikeouts.
“It’s not easy. We’ve had a crazy schedule,” Loup said, referring to the Mets’ postponed series against the Nationals and back-to-back rainouts to start this week. “I’ve never had this to start a season. It makes it difficult, but you take it as it comes and you just roll with it.”
James McCann offered breathing room for the bullpen with his first home run as a Met. He skied a two-run moonshot to left field in the eighth inning to give the Mets a solid, exhalable four-run lead over the Phillies. McCann trotted around the bases, touched home plate and waved at his family, including his twin sons, in the stands before he entered the Mets dugout.
Edwin Diaz retired the side in the ninth inning, including strikeouts of Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto.