The New York Mets had another tough night in Philadelphia, and as a result they'll likely be redoing their rotation.
The New York Mets reconfigured their starting rotation recently, but it's not going to last. This is what the Mets do these days--they send questionable pitchers to the mound, those pitchers have bad outings, and then they repeat the cycle.
The latest example of this is David Peterson, who started last night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies but gave the Mets little chance to win. He walked the first two hitters he faced, then gave up two runs in the first, and he surrendered another three in the second on a three-run homer by Kyle Schwarber. The result was a 6-2 loss that came on the heels of a 15-3 pounding.
It was a depressing weekend in Philadelphia for the Mets, and now they have to figure out their rotation again. The Mets have done this sort of thing before, but this time around there are fewer answers than ever.
“We’ve got to see what we’ve got here in the upcoming days,” manager Carlos Mendoza said in an article written by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com when he was asked about all this. “People need to step up. We will have conversations, I’m pretty sure. But too early to tell.”
One alternative DiComo noted is Kodai Senga, but he’s already in the rotation, and he subitted his seemingly obligatory bad start. Christian Scott will be returning from the IL after dealing with a hip impingement, but whatever decision the Mets make, it’s clear that Peterson isn’t the answer.
According to Dicomo, Peterson has a 10.97 ERA with seven strikeouts and six walks over 10 2/3 innings over his last three starts. The four innnings he managed last night was his longest of June, so he’s wearing out the bullpen, too.
Peterson’s initial comments focused on his poor first inning, as the road to bad began wtih those two walks.
“I wasn’t very pleased with walking the first two guys,” Peterson said.
The left-hander has been evasive when he’s been asked about possibly staying in the rotation, and that was the case again after last night.
“I’m not necessarily focused on that,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of been week-to-week. Get back home and talk to Mendy … about the plan going forward and see where we’re at and go from there. But my job regardless of the role is to continue to put in good work and be ready for when I am given the ball.”
Most teams would be reluctant to give Peterson the ball again given his apparent definition of "good work," but that's not the Mets. Their season to date has been largely defined by trying to get Peterson, Senga and Manaea turned around, which is why they’re buried deep in last place in the NL East.
