ATLANTA -- When the call to the bullpen came for Tim Peterson during the Mets' 4-1 win over the Braves at SunTrust Park on Wednesday night, he thought it was happening all too soon.
"I wasn't expecting a call that quick," Peterson said after the game. "I guess I had to get ready pretty quick out there."
And he did just that in his Major League debut, relieving starter Jason Vargas at the start of the sixth inning. Not 24 hours before, he was hopping on a plane after being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Peterson made 23 appearances for the 51s, recording 40 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. He has been relying more on his changeup and slider in recent outings, and said he has used the slider more this season than in years past.
It was the changeup that he used to get two of the three batters he faced to chase for a groundout and flyout in his first inning in the Majors. Those two batters were Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis.
"Petey got thrown right in the heart of things, facing 2-3-4, some of the best hitters in the league," outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. "It's his debut and he just comes right in there, 1-2-3."
Peterson was one of three pitchers the Mets called up on Wednesday following injuries to Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz.
Manager Mickey Callaway said before the game that the team had "hit rock bottom" throughout the four-game series with the Braves, but his team was able to find the help it needed in the bullpen on Wednesday night.
And although Peterson relinquished the Braves' lone run -- on a Johan Camargo home run in the seventh -- his two-inning performance showed the promise of better things to come for a weathered Mets bullpen.
"He gave up the long ball to Camargo, but at least he's throwing strikes," Nimmo said. "He was challenging them, and really made them hit the ball."