Freddy Peralta’s Mets Debut A Mixed Bag

Freddy Peralta‘s Mets debut had its rough spots, but it didn’t need to be perfect. Backed by strong run support, the Mets pulled away for an 11-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day at Citi Field.

Pittsburgh struck first. Oneil Cruz opened with a single to center, and Brandon Lowe followed with a two-run home run to give the Pirates an early 2-0 lead. Peralta limited the damage by striking out Bryan Reynolds, Marcell Ozuna, and Ryan O’Hearn to end the inning.

Peralta then worked a clean second inning, striking out Jared Triolo and inducing two groundouts. In the third, Lowe struck again with his second home run of the game, cutting the lead to 5-3. Peralta allowed a single to Reynolds but avoided further damage by retiring Ozuna.

Outside of Lowe’s two homers, Peralta looked solid. He leaned on his fastball and slider, racking up 14 swinging strikes and consistently missing bats.

“Other than the two mistakes there to Lowe, I thought he was pretty good,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “Couple of missed pitches, they clipped him. But the stuff was there.”

Peralta added another clean inning in the fourth, his second 1-2-3 frame. In the fifth, he allowed a run on a Nick Gonzales single and an RBI double from Henry Davis. He finished his outing by striking out Cruz and Reynolds, ending his day with the lead intact.

Peralta said he fed off the energy in the ballpark throughout his Mets debut

“The energy from the first pitch to the last one, you can feel it,” he said. “It helps me to get better. It was amazing.”

The Mets’ lineup made sure those early runs didn’t matter for long. Facing Paul Skenes, they sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run first inning. Brett Baty delivered the biggest hit, clearing the bases with a three-run triple that flipped the game immediately.

Peralta joked after the game that he had asked the offense for support before first pitch.

“I asked them earlier today, ‘I need some runs from you guys,’” he said. “But damn, that’s crazy!”

Peralta finished his day after five innings, allowing four runs on five hits. It wasn’t dominant, but it was enough with the cushion he had.

Tobias Myers took over and handled the middle innings. He allowed a solo home run to Ryan O’Hearn but otherwise kept things quiet, retiring six straight hitters at one point. His three innings kept the game under control without forcing the Mets to use their top bullpen arms.

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