David Peterson has been the New York Mets’ starting core’s one constant. He has stayed healthy and given the Mets innings, which are essential during the recent month-long swoon. When New York needs him, he steps up. He did so again Sunday afternoon in a must-win 3-2 nail-biter over the Cincinnati Reds.
Injuries Derail Rotation
The Mets entered the early afternoon of June 13th with a sweep of the Washington Nationals, a six-game winning streak, and the best record in Major League Baseball. Starting pitching led the way behind fantastic performances by Griffin Canning, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, and Peterson.
New York’s rotational core four all had earned run averages under three, the first time in 40 years the Mets could make such a claim. Their arms consistently gave their team quality innings and a chance to win. They also helped New York overcome dreadful clutch hitting.
The Mets, along with their victory over the Nationals, also endured a critical injury. Senga strained his hamstring, forcing him onto the injured list for a month. Suddenly, the rotation’s reliability was shaken. The Senga domino knocked over more dominos.
Tylor Megill strained his right elbow and hasn’t pitched since. Canning tore his Achilles, completing his pitching follow-through, costing him the rest of his breakout 2025. Holmes has stayed healthy, but as a career relief-turned-starter, his innings and pitch counts have gone well past his previous max. He has struggled to get past five innings, allowing three to four runs a game.
Mets Have Endured Hideous Month
It is no coincidence that New York’s exceptional performance has suffered dramatically. Over the last 30 games, the Mets are 10-20 and have been swept by losing teams like the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The woeful RISP has continued, but now the starting pitching has failed to hold the opposition down. The poor seasonal fielding has reached a new degree of ineptitude. Throughout the last month, the gloves have played defense at a level that would embarrass Little Leaguers.
New York’s once comfortable lead over the National League East has turned into a deficit. They currently look up at the Philadelphia Phillies and are fortunate not to be further behind. The Mets hoped to use the All-Star break to regroup.
Second Half Starts Miserably
Unfortunately, the second half started as the first ended, pitifully. New York’s bats put up embarrassing performances Friday and Saturday, failing terribly in numerous clutch opportunities
The starting pitchers failed to get past the fifth inning in both games. Manager Carlos Mendoza made a highly questionable decision in lifting Sean Manaea after the fourth inning Friday. Mendoza chose to use Alex Carrillo, a 28-year-old rookie making his third career appearance. He imploded, allowing three home runs.
Holmes labored once again Saturday, throwing to high pitch counts and failing to execute in key spots. New York had a short-lived lead that vanished quickly. The bats could do little to change momentum, and the Mets went down to yet another maddening loss.
New York was in a tight spot; they desperately needed a win on Sunday. Getting swept at home by a playoff contender after weeks of ineptitude threatened to sink the team even further into the abyss. Thankfully, it had the right arm on the mound, Peterson.
Peterson Is Clutch
The Mets’ running scoring woes didn’t figure to get better facing Andrew Abbott, 8-1 with a 2.13 ERA. They didn’t; he pitched a sound game. He threw six innings, allowing six hits, two runs, and striking out five.
New York needed Peterson to match Abbott and hopefully exceed him. Peterson worked around the Mets’ dreadful fielding in the first, enduring a horrific throwing error by Luisangel Acuna. Peterson allowed only a run instead of what could have easily been three or four.
Peterson gave up nothing more, blanking the high-powered Reds offense through the sixth. Through the third through sixth innings, he faced a minimum of 12 batters and allowed New York to scratch a 2-1 lead. He elevated his performance throughout the tense environment, as he has done since the start of 2024.
Mendoza took Peterson out after the sixth and 93 pitches. One could question that, considering the shaky relief performance over the last few weeks. The bullpen didn’t hold up, giving up the tying run in the eighth, but it did keep Cincinnati stuck at two runs.
Juan Soto, after Peterson, deserves the star of the game. Soto walked to lead off the eighth and ran the bases astutely to get to third on Pete Alonso’s pinch double. Soto then used brilliant awareness to beat a throw home off a 102-mile-per-hour scorcher by Luis Torrens.
The bullpen held up in the 9th, getting the save from Ryan Stanek, who covered for Edwin Diaz, who closed out the eighth. Stanek needed a strong performance after months of disappointment. Peterson, though, set the table for all the dramatics. Without his stellar performance, the Mets unquestionably would have been swept.
End Of My David Peterson Rant
Peterson has been the glue holding New York’s rotation. He excelled over the first few months along with his starting mates, giving the Mets the best ERA. He was a rock during the rash of injuries that took out three rotational arms.
Frankie Montas and Manaea missed the start of the season and recently returned. They have provided reason for hope as they work their way back to form. Without the starting core’s reliability during their absence, there would have been little reason for optimism. Peterson led the rotation then, as he continues to do now.
Peterson turned his career around in 2024 and has raised his performance. He has become the arm that Mets fans want to see on the mound in the must-win games. Some have compared him to a bulldog; it’s a good description. His tenacity, molded from years of adversity, means he will not quit. He wants pressure and thrives from it.
New York has been a train wreck since mid-June, but it could have been even worse. They are remarkably only a half game out of first, so a great opportunity remains. Without Peterson, the Mets would have been lucky to win five games over this span. They would have needed a wing and a prayer to take the division.
