The Mets (62-76) and Rays (82-55) continued their series Tuesday night, and for the Mets, it was the first time they faced former teammate Freddy Peralta since trading him to the Rays. In an interview with SNY on Monday, Peralta was unsure of how it would feel to face his former teammates, but stated that he was planning to go out and do what he always strives to do on the mound: compete.
Though it looked in the first inning like the Mets were going to get the better of Peralta, he settled in as the Rays went on to defeat the Mets 6-2, with Peralta securing his seventh win of the year.
Francisco Lindor got to Peralta right away with a lead-off home run in the first. Bo Bichette and Carson Benge also singled off their former teammate; however, Peralta retired Jared Young and Brett Baty to limit the Mets to just one run in the first. Those three hits were also the only three hits the Mets would get, as the Rays’ pitching staff shut them down.
With the Mets up 1-0, the Rays immediately responded in the bottom of the first against Sean Manaea. Manaea gave up a leadoff double, followed by an RBI single to tie the game.
With Peralta settling in, the Rays extended their lead over the Mets in the third while Manaea showed signs of an early struggle. The southpaw finished his night after 5.2 innings. He allowed 11 hits, five earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts.
The Mets got one run back in the seventh despite not getting a single hit. Rays’ pitching walked four batters in the inning to walk in a run.
However, the Rays got that run back in the eighth off Jefry Yan on a fielder’s choice.
With the Rays defeating the Mets Tuesday night, the Mets will play for the series win in the rubber match on Wednesday in Tampa Bay.
Player of the Game
The player of the game for Tuesday night is Lindor for his solo home run in the first.
On Deck
The Mets and Rays conclude their series on Wednesday night. Justin Hagenman gets the start for the Mets against Griffin Jax (6-9, 3.63 ERA, 100 SO) for the Rays in the rubber match in Tampa Bay.
