David Peterson was arguably on the brink of being sent to the bullpen – or the minors – after back-to-back rough outings to start the month. But the lefty came back with a strong showing on Monday night against the Chicago Cubs to put Mets fans at ease a bit.
Peterson threw six strong innings in the series opener against the Cubs on Monday night at Citi Field, allowing just one hit and zero earned runs to go along with three strikeouts and two walks. He picked up the win in the 5-2 victory over the Cubs.
“It came down to being able to execute,” Peterson said. “Executing pitches throughout the night and I think that led to what happened.
“I think the goal is being able to take the start one pitch at a time, that’s all you can do is throw one at a time. And so I think when you simplify it down to that and really focus on each pitch and executing that pitch, the results will come.”
“Had good command, was attacking batters, he didn’t shy away from the zone,” Luis Rojas said after the game. “Deep lineup and he didn’t shy away, he attacked them.”
This outing looks like night and day when you compare it to his last two starts, when he threw for a combined 3.0 innings, and allowed 11 hits, nine earned runs, and four walks and only had four strikeouts.
“Yeah, it felt good,” Peterson said when asked if this outing was a relief at all after his last couple of outings.
The 25-year-old is in just his second season in the league and was able to crack the starting rotation as a rookie last season with a 6-2 record, 3.44 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 49.2 innings pitched.
His regression to a 1-5 record and 6.32 ERA this season (before Monday’s outing) had him in the hot seat to lose his starting spot, especially with GM Zack Scott telling reporters on Friday that he’d be interested in adding starting pitching at the trade deadline if the right deal presented itself.
“It’s part of the job,” he said. “Obviously you’re going to have tough starts, you’re going to go through rough patches. Everyone that’s played this game has gone through a rough patch. But I think being able to turn the page as quick as you can and really putting it out of your mind, once you walk away from the field, what happened has happened … and just being able to get to the next one.”
“Huge,” Rojas said for what this outing did for Peterson mentally after the last couple. “We had some talks in between the last start and this start — and we always talk, he’d solid, he’s a good kid and he’s very poise, but he’s human. So he didn’t deny that he thought a lot of things just from past performances.”
Maybe this strong showing on Monday is him turning over a new leaf.