Freddy Peralta was ineffective again - worry time?
Peralta's last seven starts have been very underwhelming
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets got shut out at home by the Cardinals, 7-0 (box)
RHP Freddy Peralta didn’t have his best stuff, surrendering six runs off six hits in his six innings of work; this was the third time in Peralta’s last four starts that he’s allowed at least four runs
It was another largely uncompetitive showing from the offense, as just four Mets hitters combined for five hits; there were nine strikeouts throughout the lineup against a single walk
CF A.J. Ewing had two of those five hits, including the Mets’ only extra-base hit of the night
Injury Report 🩺
RHP Kodai Senga (lumbar spine inflammation, right ulnar nerve irritation) was scratched from his rehab start yesterday the Mets will monitor how it feels over the next few days
INF/DH Jorge Polanco (left Achilles bursitis) had an MRI that “looked fine,” and he is going to resume pregame work, sans defensive activities; he’ll likely DH only when his rehab assignment picks back up
SS Francisco Lindor (strained left calf) will continue baseball activities this week and be reevaluated at the end of the homestand
RHP Joey Gerber (right finger blister) left Tuesday’s game before the ninth inning after a re-emergence of a blister on the same finger that initially landed him on the IL
Roster Moves 📰
C Hayden Senger optioned to Syracuse
C Jack Scanlon signed to a minor league contract
Play of the Game 😢
Though the Mets hadn’t been doing much all game to inspire faith that they could climb their way back into it, this is when things really started to feel out of reach.
With one out and one on in the top of the fifth, Peralta hung a curveball on the outer edge of the zone to Cardinals 1B Alec Burleson, which he promptly flicked over the left field wall to put St. Louis up 6-0.
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
ICYMI: Andrew and Rich reflected on the Mets going .500 over their final West Coast trip of the regular season, celebrated the young psychopaths, and tried to forecast a way forward for this year’s club.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
3B Jacob Reimer (No. 4 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
RHP José Chirinos (High-A): 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 10 K, 1 HR
RHP Cam Tilly (No. 27 prospect, Single-A): 6.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K
RHP Elwis Mijares (Single-A): 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
SS Elian Peña (No. 7 prospect, Single-A): 0-for-3, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
CF Trey Snyder (Single-A): 1-for-4, 1 3B, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL (No Hitter) | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR (F/6)
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (29-37) vs Cardinals (36-28)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Austin Warren (1-2, 2.01 ERA) vs. RHP Andre Pallante (6-4, 3.96 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Is there reason to worry about Freddy Peralta? ✍️
I’m entering tonight’s writing session with a bit of apprehension, as I don’t want to risk any sort of jinx action…but is Freddy Peralta okay?
Peralta was acquired from the Brewers this winter with the hopes that he’d be the guy the Mets needed to fill the top-of-rotation role and help prop up Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes. At the start of the season, it looked like he fit that bill: maybe he wasn’t exactly the ace that was promised, and he probably wouldn’t put up the same 2.70 ERA season in 2026 that he did the season prior, but he was solid.
Yet, running the numbers as we approach mid-June, it’s hard to ignore that Peralta’s shown some diminishing returns with each month that’s gone by.
Take a look at how his performance at the start of the year compares to his more recent outings:
Peralta’s First 7 Starts: 38.1 IP, 3.52 ERA, 17 R (15 ER), 8 XBH, 4 HR, 42 K-16 BB, 1.20 WHIP
Peralta’s Last 7 Starts: 39.2 IP, 4.54 ERA, 20 R (20 ER), 18 XBH, 6 HR, 37 K-16 BB, 1.44 WHIP
When you zoom out, Peralta’s last seven starts really don’t offer much to get excited about. And though to this point there hadn’t been any glaringly obvious causes for concern beyond a dipping stat line, after looking at last night’s data, I’m growing increasingly suspicious that something might be developing under the hood.
Peralta’s average velocity yesterday was down from his season average across the board, but most significantly on his fastball. His vFA on Tuesday was a full tick slower than it’s been on that pitch all year, including in his last few less-than-stellar starts. Yes, he hit 96 mph with it, and it came in the sixth inning, but the overall decrease in velocity feels more significant when you start looking a little deeper.
Peralta was also missing the zone up-and-arm side more than he has all season. Look at his pitch chart from last night:
None of his maps from his last 10 games look anything remotely like this. The only one that’s close is from his May 29th start against the Marlins, but that chart skews much more heavily down in the zone and is loaded with changeup usage, a pitch that naturally moves that direction to begin with.
For Peralta to miss this frequently, with this many pitch types, and in this particular placement pattern, troubles me.
Again, I don’t want to be overdramatic—in a vacuum, it’s one game with some really off stuff. But I just can’t help but wonder if something might be up with Freddy’s shoulder, mostly because he seemed unable to consistently work heavily to his glove side, which stood out given his typical maps.
Now, he may just be dealing with a little fatigue. Looking at his last few starts, Peralta did touch upwards of 97+ mph in some recent starts, so he has been throwing harder, and just as the loss of velo is noteworthy, so is the fact that it remains, for now, an isolated incident.
Carlos Mendoza said that there was nothing to worry about with the velocity, that Justin Willard checked on him, and that Peralta wouldn’t have put his health at risk by continuing to run himself out there. Peralta doubled down, saying that sometimes it happens, just one of those days. I wouldn’t expect them to say anything else unless something was obviously wrong, and I could absolutely be making much ado about nothing.
We’ll see what his next few starts hold. As he reminded us (and himself) in his post-game comments, he should have nearly 20 more starts left to make this season. His season’s story is only partially written.
But when I see considerably decreased velocity alongside an anomalous movement/miss profile relative to season-long performance, especially on the heels of a sustained dip in performance, I’m naturally going to have some questions.
Around the League 🚩
White Sox rookie Braden Montgomery became the fifth player ever to hit a walk-off in their MLB debut as the White Sox edged the Braves 6-5 - Ronald Acuña, Jr. left the game with a tight left hamstring after trying to run out a close play at first base
Blue Jays rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela also delivered a walk-off hit against the Phillies to wrap up a 3-2 win for Toronto
In the Dodgers 12-3 rout of the Pirates, 1B Freedie Freeman notched his 2,500th hit, becoming the only active player to have reached that milestone
Gerrit Cole only lasted four innings against the Guardians, but Jazz Chisholm and Spencer Jones provided homer insurance to secure the Yankees’ narrow 3-2 win