NEW YORK -- Giants left-hander Cesar Perdomo made his first big league start against the Mets on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field and gave them fits, but New York ended up winning the game, 4-2.
It looked like Perdomo was going to get his first Major League win. San Francisco had a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but right-hander Carson Seymour had a tough time getting hitters out.
Pinch-hitter Brett Baty led off the frame and hit a homer to cut the lead to one. Five batters later, the Mets had runners on first and third with two outs when Bo Bichette swung at an 0-1 slider and hit the ball into the left-center-field seats to give them a two-run lead.
Seymour said he should have changed his repertoire when facing Bichette. The righty pointed out that, when he pitched one-third of an inning on Saturday, he revealed his slider too much while facing two hitters in the Giants’ 9-5 victory.
“I should have been more aggressive with the harder stuff like the fastball. It seems like they were waiting for the slider,” Seymour said. “It’s one of those things. [The slider] wasn’t a bad pitch. It’s one of my better pitches. They did a good job, and they were waiting for it.”
The loss spoiled Perdomo’s debut as a starter. He was given the nod after tossing four innings of one-run ball out of the bullpen in his Major League debut against the Pirates in a 13-12 loss this past Tuesday.
“He pitches with a little bit of panache to him,” Giants manager Tony Vitello said about Perdomo. “He has a really quick left-handed arm. On Tuesday, he came in on short notice. Our starter’s outing was cut short. He came in and saved the day for us. He was pretty efficient and attacked the zone and did it with good stuff.”
It’s safe to say Perdomo will get another start after what he did against the Mets. He was efficient, throwing six scoreless innings while allowing three hits and striking out four. Before leaving the game, he retired 11 of the last 12 hitters he faced.
New York never had a runner in scoring position in those frames. The fastball was Perdomo’s go-to pitch, but he also used his changeup 30 times. The slider was good, too. The off-speed pitches were in and out of the strike zone throughout the game.
“Perdomo was phenomenal. He attacked the strike zone,” Vitello said. “They were able to do some things against him, but when they did, he bared down. There was a lot of poise to him and [he] seemed to find a way [to get out of trouble]. He showed a lot of savvy. He looked like a veteran pitching.”
After the game, Perdomo met his family on the field. To be at his best in front of them made him proud.
“I feel very fortunate I was able to do this and have part of my family to witness what I’m doing. It’s a blessing,” he said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “They just congratulated me.”
It’s been a big week for Perdomo. First he made his Major League debut, and then he topped it by throwing his first quality start.
“It‘s hard to explain how happy and blessed that I am,” Perdomo said. “I just continue the process, go through every level in the organization. Just continue to work and have a plan.”
Perdomo and catcher Drew Cavanaugh have been batterymates dating back to their years in the Minor Leagues, and Cavanaugh was not surprised by what he saw from the left-hander.
“He has been so dominant, attacking the zone and putting the spin in the zone. He was competitive through every at-bat,” Cavanaugh said. “I saw that in Pittsburgh, and he carried it over to the Mets.”
At first, it looked like the Giants were not going to give Perdomo any run support. Mets right-hander Christian Scott dominated San Francisco by retiring the first 11 hitters he faced. But after getting two quick outs in the fourth, Scott was unable to get that third out before the Giants cashed in. The next three hitters reached base, with Jung Hoo Lee highlighting the outburst with a two-run single.
But the eighth inning spoiled everything.
“It’s pretty tough,” Vitello said. “You are up and ahead in the entire game. It’s tough to have the feeling that two runs is going to be enough and, of course, playing on the road. But some of those guys like Seymour have been really good for us of late in the bullpen. … He just wasn’t as sharp today.”