TORONTO — Freddy Peralta sizzled Wednesday, but only in the sense he was turned into Canadian bacon.
Of all the Mets’ disappointments this season, the alleged ace’s shortcomings might be the most perplexing. Peralta is in his career prime and physically hasn’t provided any hint of ailment.
Five-inning Freddy cut his afternoon short by a frame on Canada Day, after burying his team early in a 9-3 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
The Mets (36-51) lost a fifth straight series and sunk further into the abyss of a season that may rate as the biggest flop in franchise history.
Peralta’s latest dud occurred just hours after team owner Steve Cohen told noti.group’s Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman on “The Show” podcast that president of baseball operations David Stearns’ job is safe for the remainder of a five-year contract that runs through 2028.
Offensively, the Mets didn’t show life until the eighth, when Carson Benge delivered a two-run homer. Francisco Lindor hit a solo homer in the ninth. The Mets finished with five hits.
Over four innings Peralta surrendered five earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks as his ERA surged to 4.81. It was a third straight lackluster start and second outright clunker for Peralta.
All of it is occurring against the backdrop of the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Peralta, in his walk year, is among the team’s trade chips, but what is his value if he is deemed broken?
Peralta has been far short of the pitcher Stearns thought he was receiving when he dealt Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams to Milwaukee in January in a trade that sent the Mets another struggling pitcher in Tobias Myers (who in recent days was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse for the second time this season).
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Kazuma Okamoto’s RBI single in the first inning placed Peralta in a 1-0 hole just three batters into the game.
Nathan Lukes’ leadoff single and Vladimir Guerrero’s Jr.’s ensuing double placed Peralta in immediate trouble before Okamoto delivered. Peralta walked Alejandro Kirk later in the inning, but escaped without another run scoring.
But it turned ugly in the third. Okamoto walked to begin the inning, and with one out Alejandro Kirk hit a line drive that deflected off Lindor’s glove for a single.
Peralta retired Yohendrick Piñango for the second out, but Ernie Clement stroked an RBI double. Long Island native Sean Keys delivered the dagger: a three-run blast to left field for his first career homer.
Daulton Varsho’s RBI single against Cionel Pérez in the seventh widened the Mets deficit. Myles Straw blasted a three-run homer in the inning that gave the Blue Jays a 9-0 lead.
The Mets’ next stop is Atlanta for four games beginning Friday. The Mets won two of three games against the NL-East leading Braves at Citi Field last month.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
