Freddy Peralta Strikes Out Five, but Mets Lose to Astros 8-2

With just two weeks left until his first start at Citi Field as a member of the New York Mets, Freddy Peralta took the hill on Saturday in his latest spring training outing against the Houston Astros. While Peralta had another good showing against Houston, the Mets offense left nine runners on base and went 4-for-13 with RISP in an 8-2 loss to the Astros. Saul Garcia and Jordan Geber allowed a combined six earned runs, including a three-run home run to Yordan Alvarez in the sixth inning against Garcia. 

Freddy Peralta Has Another Strong Spring Outing

Peralta went four innings of work on Saturday and was the highlight of an otherwise sluggish day for the Mets. He struck out five Astros on 56 pitches in his outing and allowed one run, a walk, and a hit. The lone run came in the bottom of the first inning as the result of an RBI single by Alvarez. Peralta got out of the first inning by getting Carlos Correa to ground into a double play. He utilized his fastball, slider, and curveball well on the strikeouts, and he retired nine straight batters to end his outing.

Cristian Pache Continues Hot Spring

One of the more pleasant surprises coming from Port St. Lucie has been the play of Cristian Pache, and he’s made a case for the Opening Day roster. On Saturday, Pache went 2-for-4 in the game with two singles, including an RBI in the top of the ninth inning for New York’s second run of the day. This spring, he is hitting .440 with a 1.14o OPS.

Carson Benge Gets Another Hit

Carson Benge continued to state his claim to be the Mets’ Opening Day right fielder by going 1-for-3 on Saturday with a single in the sixth inning. Benge is 11-for-30 in spring training with a .367 batting average and an OPS of .839. New York asked Benge to earn the starting job, and he’s doing everything he can to get that spot so close to the start of the regular season.

AJ Ewing Has Another Productive Day

While Benge is the Mets prospect making the headlines this spring, AJ Ewing is doing pretty well to. On Saturday, he batted leadoff and got the Mets first hit of the game in the fourth inning. Ewing also drew a walk in the sixth inning.  

Mark Vientos Goes Hitless Again

One Mets hitter who is struggling in a pivotal season for him is Mark Vientos. Vientos went 0-for-4 on the day with a strikeout, just days after returning from the World Baseball Classic, where he struggled there to. Vientos is batting below .100 (.048) in spring training and an OPS of .186. While prospects such as Benge and Ewing are making their names heard, and Brett Baty is having a good spring training of his own, Vientos, just two years removed from a breakout 2024, is not bringing confidence he can bounce back from a rough 2025.

Player of the Game: Freddy Peralta

With a five-strikeout performance and retiring the last nine batters he faced, Peralta showed again why the Mets traded for him to be at the top of their rotation this season.

On Deck:

The Mets will play the Toronto Blue Jays at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie on Sunday afternoon. Zach Thornton will start for the Mets against the Blue Jays’Grant Rogers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm EDT, and the game will be telecast on WPIX and broadcast on WHSQ 880AM.

 

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