David Peterson strong, Mets hammer 4 HRs in win over Brewers
Mets starting pitcher David Peterson delivers against the Brewers during the first inning of an MLB game at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
David Peterson is back in the majors. And for at least one game, it was the good version.
The Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-2, Tuesday on a night during which they made it look easy. Peterson tossed six scoreless innings in his return to the majors, Brandon Nimmo hit two of the Mets’ four home runs and Francisco Lindor’s backhand-to-jump-throw move for the last out of Peterson’s outing highlighted a crisp defensive effort.
Peterson, though, was the main event. After surviving a 27-pitch first inning — which he escaped by getting Owen Miller to ground into a bases-loaded, first-pitch double play — he mostly cruised. Facing the second-lowest-scoring lineup in the National League, he scattered five hits and three walks and struck out five.
“I’m hoping this is a springboard to him doing what he’s capable of doing,” manager Buck Showalter said.
Peterson said: “When I got sent down, I had some things to figure out. It was also a great opportunity for me to learn and grow and get myself back in the spot I wanted to be in every fifth day.”
Over the first month and a half of the season, Peterson had pitched so poorly that the Mets (36-43) demoted him to the minors in mid-May. He fared poorly with Triple-A Syracuse, too, but club decision-makers chose him over another lefthander, Joey Lucchesi, who had performed better, for this start.
A key difference for Peterson in his first game back: He threw his slider, which usually is his best pitch but this year has not been as effective, far less often, down from 25% earlier in the season to less than half that in this game.
In its place, he went to his sinker and changeup more often.
“A lot of it was, how can I manage my pitch usage if they’re fouling the slider off and I can’t finish guys?” he said. “I gotta set them up with something else and use a different approach to get to two strikes — and then with two strikes, have that weapon in my back pocket.”
Perhaps his best pitch of the night was a full-count slider, way down and way in, to Brian Anderson, who tried to check his swing but could not.
“That,” Peterson said, “felt like my slider.”
The Mets’ lineup, meanwhile, lit up righthander Julio Teheran, the former Atlanta All-Star enjoying a renaissance with Milwaukee (41-38). He allowed seven runs in 5 2/3 innings, causing his ERA to nearly double from 1.53 to 2.85.
Nimmo led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run, the Mets’ first baserunner.
“Similar to losing, you have to forget about today,” Nimmo said. “All right, now we gotta focus on tomorrow.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
