Freddy Peralta is certainly enjoying his New York Mets experience as the new ace so far, even after discovering that pitching against the New York Yankees is a very different experience due to the cross-town rivalry factor.
The game may have been played in Florida, but in many ways it was a typical Mets-Yankees affair, with plenty of back and forth and some slugging along the way. The Mets did most of the slugging in the 10-4 win, but Peralta got nicked up a little in his second start, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts. It was a wall ball that caromed off the glove of minor leaguer A.J. Ewing after he collided with the immovable object, and the Yankees proceeded to capitalize accordingly.
Peralta didn’t mind pitching with baserunners, though, as it’s part of the spring training experience that will be replicated going forward.
“I told [pitching coach Justin Willard] earlier today that it's kind of good to have some traffic during the game, because it's going to happen during the season,” Peralta said in a piece written by Chuck King of MLB.com. “And I was able to come out without much damage.”
The Mets had him targeted for 55 pitches in this game, but Peralta threw just 45, with 31 for strikes, so he wound up making up the difference in the bullpen. Manager Carlos Mendoza didn’t mind seeing the Yankees make Peralta work, as he got to see some of Peralta's advanced pitching tactics.
“I thought it was good, especially with the way he was throwing his fastball today,” Mendoza said of Peralta's game performance. “We saw the velo picked up a little bit, just the life on it. They made him work, and that was good. It was good to see him trying to mess with hitters' timing with some of the quick pitches that he was doing, some of the slide steps. The curveball was good, and a couple good changeups there. Overall, a good day of work.”
The Mets are also enjoying Peralta’s clubhouse presence so far, which is important given what happened last year. Peralta’s arrival is part of a clubhouse cleanup that sent several veterans packing, and the Mets are also counting on Peralta to help improve the vibes in the room going forward.
“Watching him day to day, the way he interacts, this guy is just different,” Mendoza said. “This guy is genuine. He brings the joy. The quality of the person gets your attention. He's gifted in what he's able to do on the mound, but just the impact around the locker room – and it doesn't matter if you're Latin or American or wherever you come from. He's legit.”
Catcher Francisco Alvarez echoed those sentiments, calling Peralta a “very positive guy” who’s fun to catch. Which is nice for now, but it will be interesting to see how Peralta handles his first bout with adversity when the games start for real.