David Peterson may or may not have not fully turned a corner Tuesday, but he handed in his best outing of the season in his return to the major leagues when the Mets needed it the most.

If nothing else, Tuesday’s start was a step in the right direction for Peterson, who saw his ERA drop from 8.08 to an even 7.00. Peterson pitched six scoreless innings in the Mets’ 7-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. In desperate need of a strong outing and length from its starting pitching, New York held its collective breath as it handed the ball to Peterson to help stop the bleeding.

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Peterson threw a career-high 110 pitches in six scoreless innings while striking out five and walking three. It wasn’t all pretty, but it’s exactly what the Mets needed, as the team finally played a complete game for the first time in a long time to snap their losing streak.

Tuesday, Peterson looked much like the pitcher the Mets were expecting to  fill in a rotation spot for an injured José Quintana. at the start of the season. Instead, it’s been a rough go of things for Peterson, who made his first start since being demoted to Triple-A Syracuse in May. This was Peterson’s third start at the MLB level since initially being demoted to Triple-A at the end of April. Peterson returned to make two starts prior starts, in which he allowed 10 runs on 16 hits in 8.1 innings pitched in the month of May.

While Tuesday’s starts had many similar thematic elements to those rougher outings–a tough first inning, a relatively high pitch count, and falling behind in counts—he was able to bounce back and hurl his best outing of the season.

This was Peterson’s first start of the season in which he allowed zero runs. When it looked like Tuesday was going to be another clunker for Peterson, he induced some timely groundballs and had five strikeouts in his last 2.1 innings of work.

The Brewers quickly loaded the bases after a single and two walks, but just like Justin Verlander was able to do on Monday, Peterson escaped trouble. The 27-year-old left-hander induced an inning-ending double play from Owen Miller, to get himself out of trouble in the first inning.

Peterson was constantly working from behind in the count, as he faced six 3-2 counts in just four innings pitched. However, when it looked like the Brewers were finally going to get something going, something clicked for Peterson. After allowing the first two batters to reach base in the fourth, Peterson got a much-needed double-play ball before striking out Brian Anderson on a wicked slider to end the frame.

Peterson would allow two more hits in the next two innings, but also struck out four and received a terrific defensive effort from Francisco Lindor, who ensured that his starting pitcher finished his return to the majors on a high note.

 

The Mets faced some criticism for opting to go with Peterson for Tuesday night’s start, rather than Joey Lucchesi, who has been dominating Triple-A as of late. It was fair to question the decision considering Peterson’s struggles, but there was little doubt the Mets made the right call after Peterson had his first scoreless outing as a starter in 10 months. Peterson pitched six scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies back on Aug. 27, 2022.

It took longer for the old version of Peterson to return than the Mets would’ve liked, but it’s better late than never, as New York tries desperately to get its season back on track.  Perhaps a start like that from Peterson is something that the Mets can use as a building block going forward. In any event, it was a positive sign for Peterson, who has been searching for answers as to why this season has been his worst to date in the big leagues.

The Mets sure could use more starts like Tuesday going forward.