NEW YORK -- If there is a major quibble regarding the start to Freddy Peralta’s Mets tenure, it’s the same one that has trailed him throughout much of his nine-year Major League career. As successful as Peralta has been, he’s also proven inefficient.
So it was on Tuesday at Citi Field, where Peralta kept the Diamondbacks scoreless through 4 2/3 innings but needed 101 pitches to do so. Shortly after he departed, Huascar Brazobán allowed all three of his inherited runners to score, putting Peralta on the hook for a loss until Jared Young's sac fly in the eighth tied the score and Ronny Mauricio's RBI single in the 10th gave the Mets the 4-3 walk-off win.
Not all the inefficiency was Peralta’s fault. In the second inning, Francisco Lindor committed a fielding error to fuel an Arizona rally -- the second straight outing in which Lindor has cost Peralta extra pitches. Peralta also struggled to put away hitters, as the Diamondbacks swatted a dozen foul balls out of play. But he also struck out five batters and allowed just three hits.
The trouble for Peralta began with a two-out hit in the fifth inning, followed by a walk and a hit batsman. Manager Carlos Mendoza replaced Peralta at that point, and Brazobán appeared to strand all three runners with a called third strike to Adrian Del Castillo. But Del Castillo successfully challenged the call via ABS, then took advantage of the newfound life with a two-run single. Nolan Arenado followed with a bloop double to put Arizona ahead for the first time all afternoon.
Through three Mets starts, Peralta has a 4.80 ERA. He is averaging exactly five innings per start.