There are plenty of reasons why the Mets still have a chance to make the playoffs, even though Senga Kodai has only started once this season.
Prior to Tuesday's 7-2 win over Boston, president of baseball operations David Stearns praised the depth of the starting rotation.
And no one on the pitching staff has been better recently than David Peterson, the left-hander who continued his impressive work during the Mets' six-game winning streak, allowing just one run over six innings and striking out a career-high 11 batters.
“That's awesome,” Peterson said of the strikeout record.
He also lowered his season ERA to 2.75 and has performed even better in his past seven games with a 1.81 ERA, good for seventh-best in the majors in that span.
“He's a man of action and a true professional,” coach Francisco Lindor said of Peterson. “He doesn't make the moment too important. He's come a long way.”
And that's the first time since last year, when he finished with a 5.03 ERA and underwent season-ending surgery on his labrum.
Since making his season debut on May 29th of this year, Peterson has had some inconsistency, such as a decrease in the number of strikeouts, but has generally had excellent results.
“He has the tools to make weak contact,” Stearns said of Peterson before the game. “He avoids patterns and is pretty unpredictable.” [with his pitch mix] “Especially recently, I've been feeling good from start to finish, so it's a good combination. And now that I'm finally healthy, I'm able to train in between starts.”
Peterson struck out swinging on Tuesday, with manager Carlos Mendoza noting that his four-seam fastball was pitched high in the zone.
Peterson struck out three of the four batters he faced in the first inning and didn't allow a run until the fifth inning, when he struck out Jarren Duran to leave two runners on base and then left the mound one inning later with two more runners on base.
Peterson has continued his recent strong form, pitching at least five innings and allowing two runs or less in each of his seven starts.
And his 1.81 ERA during that span is seventh-best in the major leagues.
It all happened on Peterson's 29th birthday, and he said it was the perfect gift.
“For me, just winning is enough,” Peterson said.
As the Mets enter the final stretch and try to make a push for the postseason, they will likely continue to rely on Peterson as part of a starting rotation that has performed consistently despite some question marks throughout the season.
