Former Mets Starter Saves Rays Season With A Dazzling Start

The New York Mets probably didn’t recognize the pitcher the Tampa Bay Rays sent to the mound on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the ALCS, as Freddy Peralta lived up to his old “Fastball Freddy” nickname by pitching six innings of four-hit, shutout ball in the Rays 3-1 win over the Guardians. 

The short story here is that this was the version of Peralta the Mets never got to see. He struggled early with the Mets, then lost both his velocity and confidence, and by June it was so obvious that it wasnt’ going to work for him in New York that his trade value was seriously diminished. 

Enter the Rays, who seem to specialize in fixing broken pitchers like Peralta, and last night’s version was completely different. Peralta’s velocity was dominant, as he consistently ticked the gun at just under 97 mph. He also threw the hardest pitch of his career at 99.4, per a followup from Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

Peralta also wasn’t messing around with the kinds of exotic pitch mixes he tried during his struggles with the Mets. This was "fastball/changeup Freddy," as over 70 percent of his pitches were fastballs, with the changeup being virtually the only other pitch in the mix. 

Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder described it as “a bit more power than art,” which is a bit of an understatement. Peralta lost his command briefly in the second inning, and he sent one of his fastballs soaring well over the head of catcher Liam Hicks, with the wild pitch sending baserunner Travis Bazzana to second after a walk. 

But that was one of only two free passes issued by Peralta, as he gave up four hits and struck out six. The Rays scored three unearned runs in the fourth inning to stake Peralta to a lead, and he did the rest for the remainder of his outing. 

The Mets were left to wonder what might have been after the Rays’ win, as the Peralta they saw struggled to get out of the low 90s, and his lack of command got so bad that he was hit hard and often regardless of his velocity. 

The Mets are now left with outfielder Aidan Smith, infielder Emilien Pitre and right hander Gary Gill Hill as the aftermath of the Peralta trade, and they also surrendered two prime prospects, pitcher Brandon Sproat and infielder Jett Williams, to acquire him from the Milwaukee Brewers last offseason.