Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets starting rotation doesn’t need a phantom coach to perform. David Peterson owned the mound in the rubber match of their series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Peterson faced the Philadelphia lineup for the third time this season. A rocky first inning emanated vibes of his first start against on April 7. Instead, Peterson rapidly turned it into five innings of one-run ball, much like his start against Philadelphia on April 14.

He lacked command of the zone early, as Peterson’s first two pitches were a foot off the plate before overcorrecting by firing a 91 mile per hour sinker down the middle. Andrew McCutchen turned on it to deep left-center for Peterson’s lone box score blemish of the night.

He walked Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper singled before the Mets recorded an out. An early mound visit was necessary to settle down the second-year left-hander. Peterson responded to his coach with a strikeout of J.T. Realmuto. Alec Bohm grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Peterson disposed of the Phillies in the second. He peppered the zone low and away to get Didi Gregorius to strike out looking. Nick Maton whiffed on a slider to strike out while Roman Quinn had a 93 mph fastball blown by his bat to finish off the side.

“When he gets punched in the face he gets better,” manager Luis Rojas said.

Peterson picked up two more Ks in the third. Zach Eflin and McCutchen went down for Peterson’s fourth and fifth straight strikeouts, respectively. Hoskins gave him trouble again with a single and Harper walked to put a man in scoring position with two outs. Realmuto came up short again by flying out.

Maton reached base in the fourth with a two-out single. Quinn grounded out to cap off a 10-pitch inning for Peterson. His final frame started the same as the third. Eflin and McCutchen each struck out, and this time Peterson forced Hoskins into his first out of the night.

Peterson was pinch-hit for with two runners on and one out in the sixth.

“He was great. This kid, his poise is unbelievable,” Rojas said. “His poise helps him to do this. I know he’s got the tools to be a really good pitcher and he’s shown it.”

Rojas recalled Peterson’s first start of the year.

“This is adversity happening right away,” Rojas said. “He pitched in this field, his first outing of the year, and had a rough first inning. So this is happening all over again. To be able to bounce back and give us what he gave us is part of the poise.”

Sparking Peterson’s bounce-back was the double play in the first inning.

“The defense tonight was amazing,” Peterson said. “It’s always good to have balls that are knocked down and we’re able to get two outs. I can’t thank those guys enough for what they did in the field and James McCann behind the plate. It was a full team effort tonight from start to finish.”

Peterson may have subscribed to the Mets’ self-motivation tools on offense after all. He put it on himself to stop the damage by the Philadelphia offense. He knew that if he could get back to the dugout he’d figure out his stuff and the Mets would be back in it.

Peterson’s start this season has been shaky, alternating good starts with bad, but if he went six he would have qualified for his second straight quality start. He’ll pitch again Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.