Matt Shaw lined an 85 mph change-up for a single. Nico Hoerner stroked a 92 mph fastball for an RBI single. Ian Happ laced a 93 mph sinker for a two-run double. Three different pitches, three poor results.
David Peterson wasn’t fooling anyone in the second inning at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, and the Happ double was the last straw for Carlos Mendoza. He pulled Peterson and after the game said “maybe” when asked if he’d take his next turn in the rotation.
“Tough night for him,” the manager said. “Not able to fill the strike zone the way we want him to, the way he wanted to. Three-ball counts, got behind on hitters and then when he came in, they made contact and they hit some balls hard that found holes. The walks.”
Peterson gave up five earned runs on five hits, walked two, struck out one and recorded four outs. He should have escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the first inning, but Juan Soto misjudged a fly ball at the warning track and turned it into a two-run double. The Mets rallied from 6-1 down for a 9-7 victory.
“Weird one but a tough one,” Peterson said. “I’ll go back and look at video and move on. But amazing team win. Can’t say enough about the bullpen. They stepped up big. I don’t have enough words to show my appreciation for what they did. They picked me up big time. The offense picked it up and kept us in the game.
“I think that’s, as much as I feel about my personal effort, you know, this is the team that we have and we’re going to stick together. Guys are going to pick each other up. I’m extremely grateful and proud to be a part of this team.”
Peterson is one of 13 pitchers to throw a shutout this season. He was a first-time All-Star, and on Aug. ,1 his ERA was 2.83. He’s been hit hard a lot since. He gave up six runs and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning on Aug. 13. He was tagged for eight runs in two innings on Aug. 30.
In four September starts, he’s given up 18 runs in 16 2/3 innings for a 9.72 ERA. He’s at a career-high 168 2/3 innings pitched for the season. He set a career high last year when he threw 121 innings.
“But again, we gonna need this guy,” Mendoza said. “I know it’s been a struggle. It wasn’t a good one today but our job is to continue to support him and he’s gonna play a big role here in the next few days. So, counting on him, you gotta flush this one and then be ready for whenever we give him the ball again.”
Peterson’s next scheduled start would be Sunday, the last game of the regular season. Mendoza wouldn’t commit to giving him that turn.
“Where we at nowadays, we got to take it one day at a time,” he said. “Maybe he starts a game but we got to get there.”
