AROUND THE HORN

Mets:

The bullpen phone was a secondary concern for Mets starter David Peterson on Monday compared to the one sitting in the trainer’s room. His cellphone never buzzed, and that was OK by him. Peterson will worry about his wife’s delivery another day. Peterson pitched into the sixth inning with wife Alex expected to go into labor soon, and the Mets beat the Marlins 6-0 in New York despite losing Jeff McNeil to injury. Mets manager Buck Showalter joked Monday morning that New York was on “baby watch” with Peterson, McNeil and Seth Lugo all awaiting newborns. Lugo was placed on the paternity list before the game. Peterson was prepared to leave the park if Alex went into labor with the couple’s first child, and the Mets had contingencies if he couldn’t make the start. Peterson had his phone stashed in the trainer’s room, hoping someone would hear if it rang, but he was reasonably confident he had time to pitch before his son arrived. “Once I’m here, it’s all about the game,” he said. “If it rings, it rings.” After being inconsistent with his mechanics this season, Peterson (4-1) was on top of his delivery and covered 5 innings with a seasonhigh seven strikeouts on 100 pitches. He allowed six hits and two walks as the Mets won the four-game series by finishing their 11th shutout this season, tying the Yankees for the major league lead. McNeil left in the fourth inning with right hamstring tightness after scoring on a wild pitch. He was sent for an MRI, but Showalter was hopeful it was only a day-to-day issue. The Mets’ J.D. Davis was hit on the left hand by a pitch in the eighth, the major league-leading 50th Mets player plunked this season. Davis threw his bat in pain but remained in the game. Davis had surgery in the offseason to repair a torn ligament in his left hand that bothered him throughout 2021. Davis was sent for X-rays, which initially came back negative.

Mariners: Relievers Sergio Romo and and Roenis Elías were cut by the struggling Mariners to make room for reliever Ken Giles and INF Kevin Padlo. Romo and Elías were designated for assignment, Giles was activated from the 60-day IL and Padlo was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma. The Mariners have lost seven of their last nine games and are fourth in the AL West at 29-39, 13 games behind the first-place Astros. Romo, a 39-year-old righthander known for his long beard, had an 8.16 ERA in 17 relief appearances and spent a month on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. Giles a 31-year-old right-hander, sprained his right middle finger during spring training and went 0-1 with a 14.21 ERA during eight games of a rehabilitation assignment at Class A Everett and Triple-A Tacoma. He signed with the Mariners in February 2021, then had Tommy John surgery and missed the season. Giles’ last major league appearance was for the Blue Jays on Sept. 15, 2020. Elías has a 3.52 ERA in seven relief appearances. Padlo, 25, was traded from the Mariners to the Giants for cash April 27, then claimed off waivers from the Giants on June 11. He has appeared in 14 major league games over the last two seasons for three teams and was 2-for-12 in four games for the Giants this season.