David Peterson Struggles As Mets Lose 7-4 To Giants

The New York Mets (14-8) and San Francisco Giants (7-13) continued their four-game series at Oracle Park Saturday on a beautiful, cool day in San Francisco. The Mets had a 2-0 series lead going into Saturday afternoon’s game and were looking to take the series win on Saturday.

David Peterson took the mound for the visiting Mets against right-handed pitcher Logan Webb of the Giants. Unfortunately, for New York, Peterson continued to struggle as he gave up seven earned runs across five innings. The Giants scored four quick runs in the first inning and did not look back, ultimately cruising to a 7-4 win.

The only big hit the Mets had on Saturday came in the third inning as Brandon Nimmo hit his second home run of the year. Brett Baty, Starling Marte, and Daniel Vogelbach each drove in runs as well.

A huge positive for the Mets was relief pitcher Edwin Uceta. Uceta threw three scoreless innings of relief on Saturday. Most importantly, he helped preserve the bullpen for Sunday’s rubber game.

As for the game, the Giants teed off on Peterson in the bottom of the first to take a big early lead. Thairo Estrada opened the bottom half of the inning with a single to second. Two batters later, former Met Michael Conforto singled to center field to move Estrada over to third and into scoring position. Wilmer Flores then walked to load the bases.

After a sacrifice fly, the very next batter, Brandon Crawford, hit a hard three-run home. It ballooned the Giants’ lead to 4-0 headed to the second inning.

The Mets got one run back in the top of the second. With two outs, Vogelbach hit a deep double to right-centerfield that got past Conforto scoring a run. New York cut the Giants’ lead to 4-1.

The Giants answered back immediately in the bottom of the inning. Heliot Ramos doubled to lead-off the inning, then Ruf singled to right field and to score Ramos. Then, Conforto hit into a fielder’s choice, but Alonso’s throw home was late making it a 6-1 game before the inning concluded.

The Mets once again got a run back in the third. This time it was off the bat of Nimmo. He sent a ball over the wall in the deepest part of the ballpark to make it a 6-2 in the third inning.

In the fifth inning, former fan-favorite Flores hit his third home run of the year to extend the Giants’ lead to 7-2. Peterson’s day was subsequently done after five rough innings. His final line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO. Peterson’s season ERA now sits at a staggering 7.36.

Uceta replaced Peterson and excelled quickly. He ended up finishing out the game, tossing three innings and striking out three while holding the Giants hitless. A nice change of pass from Peterson’s woeful performance prior to Uceta’s entrance.

The Mets tried to once again get some offensive momentum in the eight. Baty and Nimo hit back-to-back singles to lead off the eighth. With one out, Marte singled to score Baty and the Mets made it a 7-3 game in the eighth inning. Though, that was all the damage they would create in the inning.

New York made a little more noise in the ninth inning against Giants’ closer Camilo Doval. Canha tallied a one-out single for his second hit of the day. Baty – who finished 2-for-4 – then singled on line drive to left field to score Canha (he advanced to second base on defensive indifference) to make it a 7-4 game. However, Luis Guillorme grounded out to end the game as the Giants were able to preserve a 7-4 win over New York.

Player of the Game: Edwin Uceta

The 25-year old right-handed pitcher, Edwin Uceta, made his New York Mets’ debut and pitching very well. Uceta threw three scoreless innings and did not give up a hit. He walked two and struck out three across 51 pitches. Most importantly, as mentioned above, he preserved the Mets’ bullpen for the rubber game of the series Sunday.

On Deck:

On Sunday, the Mets and Giants will finish the four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:08 pm ET and is nationally televised on ESPN. The probable pitcher matchup is Tylor Megill (3-1, 3.00 ERA) against right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling (0-1, 7.30 ERA).