Mets' David Peterson hammered right off the bat in loss to Giants
San Francisco Giants' Brandon Crawford (35) runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run against Mets pitcher David Peterson, foreground, during the first inning a baseball game in San Francisco, Saturday, April 22, 2023. Credit: AP/Godofredo A. Vásquez
SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets, currently flailing to keep five starting pitchers in some semblance of a rotation, might have a David Peterson problem.
Peterson got crushed by the Giants in a 7-4 loss Saturday, the sort of noncompetitive outing in which managing to pitch as long as he did — five innings despite allowing seven runs — registered as a minor moral victory.
In a team-high five starts, Peterson has a 7.36 ERA (fourth worst in the majors among qualified pitchers) and 1.64 WHIP (tied for fifth worst).
Of the Mets’ eight losses, Peterson has started four.
“He’s had some good moments. He’s had some good sequences and good innings,” manager Buck Showalter said. “He hasn’t been quite as consistent yet, but that tells me there’s better days ahead for him. He’s shown us what he’s capable of doing.”
Peterson added: “There’s good results in there and there’s just some things that are hurting me now, and those need to be cleaned up. We got some guys down. As part of this rotation, I need to be better.”
A primary problem, according to Peterson, is a suddenly fickle ability to locate pitches, especially his slider.
In Brandon Crawford’s game-turning at-bat in the first inning, for example, Peterson threw a slider down and away, as he wanted, and Crawford swung and missed for strike two. After Crawford laid off the next pitch in a similar spot, Peterson tried again — but the slider didn’t slide.
That yielded the big blow of San Francisco’s four-run inning: a two-out, two-strike, three-run home run to rightfield, bounced into McCovey Cove.
“A complete miss right in the heart of the zone,” Peterson said. “The slider has been something that I’ve struggled with. It’s usually my go-to pitch. We’re going to work on straightening that out and getting back to where I need to be with that pitch.”
The Giants (7-13) added a pair of runs in the second. Darin Ruf had an RBI single and Michael Conforto had an RBI grounder.
After two innings, Peterson had allowed six runs and thrown 61 pitches. Altogether, he allowed eight batted balls hit at 100 mph or faster.
“I know he feels terrible about it,” Brandon Nimmo said. “And I don’t ever question his want and his will to win. That just happens sometimes.”
Peterson actually was much better late. He needed only 37 pitches to get through the next three innings. Wilmer Flores homered, but the only other baserunner reached on an error by third baseman Brett Baty.
“We’ll take the good out of it,” Showalter said. “He battled his way through five innings, which is good for our team as a whole.”
The Mets’ starter depth at the moment is such that Peterson’s job is not in immediate danger, but check in again in a week. Max Scherzer (suspended) is due back in early May. Justin Verlander (right teres major strain) might be right behind him.
With Joey Lucchesi tossing seven shutout innings against the Giants in his season debut Friday, the next turn through the rotation will be important for both lefthanders.
The Mets’ hitters, meanwhile, managed little against righthander Logan Webb, who recently received a five-year, $90 million contract extension.
Webb gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
In the second, immediately after Peterson put the Mets (14-8) in a four-run hole, they got a run back on Daniel Vogelbach’s double into the right-centerfield gap, a section of Oracle Park known as Triples Alley.
In the third, Nimmo homered to the same area.
The Mets’ last best chance against Webb came in the fourth, when back-to-back singles by Jeff McNeil and Mark Canha gave them two on with one out. Smothering the rally: McNeil was thrown out at third by catcher Joey Bart after trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt. Then Vogelbach struck out swinging.
Webb retired the last 10 batters to finish his outing.
“His ball was moving a lot,” said Francisco Lindor, who went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Nimmo said: “Webb pitched well today. He made that mistake with a slider in the middle to me, but he did a really good job. Even when we made hard contact, it was on the ground and he had fielders there.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
