Freddy Peralta had a decent outing in his last start of the first half as the New York Mets suffered a 4-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Despite allowing just two earned on three hits, and striking out six batters, the Red Sox batters ran his pitch count up to 92 pitches, leading to him exiting the game after just 4.1 innings.
This is certainly not the dominant Peralta from 2025, where he went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA (1.08 WHIP). The Mets had acquired him via a trade in the offseason from the Milwaukee Brewers.
During the game, Peralta had an embarassing situation in the second inning. With zero outs, Caleb Durbin on base and a 3-1 count against Masataka Yoshida, the Mets starter pitched a 93 mph fastball. It seemed to clear the strike zone by a long way but Peralta immediately asked for the ABS review on the call which led to the Mets losing a a challenge.
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Fans on social media trolled Peralta, earning $15.5 million this year, for his lack of game awareness. Here are a few reactions from X:
“It’s like if Jazz Chisholm was a pitcher,” a fan said in reference to the Yankees second baseman.
“The Mets season in a nutshell,” a fan stated.
“I’m at the game and it looked worse in person. No idea what they were thinking,” a fan wrote.
“Oof. I see why teams don’t want pitchers to challenge calls,” a fan commented.
“3 inches off the plate. smh,” a fan added.
Despite putting Yoshida on base, and later loading the bases with a walk to Carlos Narvaez, Peralta went through unscathed in that inning. He pitched a 1-2-3 third inning, before putting Durbin on base yet again, with a leadoff walk in the next inning. One batter later, Andrew Monasterio homered to left field to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
Freddy Peralta aware of his struggles heading into the All-Star break
Freddy Peralta was quick to admit in the postgame interviews that his start was a rather premature one. He has been pushing himself to come out of the slump that set him back following a solid 3.10 ERA in his first nine starts.
“It’s a terrible feeling coming out before the fifth inning,” Peralta said after the 4-0 loss. “I’ve been struggling and I’m just working on trying to navigate through this. It’s been difficult, but not impossible for me.
“I never lose the hope. Just keep working; that’s what I keep telling myself and at some point I’m gonna navigate through it.”
Peralta will finish the first half with a disappointing 5-8 record with a 4.66 ERA (1.44 WHIP) in 20 starts. Heading into the game against the Red Sox, the 30-year-old had a 6.22 ERA in his previous ten starts.
Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy
