Jun 21, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher David Peterson (23) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
For the umteenth time this season, David Peterson’s role within the New York Mets’ rotation will be discussed by team brass after yet another dud of an outing on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The veteran left-hander was tagged for four earned runs in four innings, immediately putting his team behind the eight-ball in a 6-2 rubber-game loss at Citizens Bank Park. The struggles started from the jump, as both Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber came around to score in the first inning after being walked.
Schwarber launched his league-leading 29th home run of the season, a three-run shot, in the very next inning to blow it open for the Phillies, who are tied for the best record in baseball after firing manager Rob Thomson and replacing him with Don Mattingly in late April.
A no-good season, which has already featured multiple demotions to the bullpen, continues to get worse for Peterson. He now has a 6.09 ERA in 16 appearances (eight starts), but remains in the mix because the Mets lack any sort of legitimate starting-pitching depth.
Clay Holmes and Christian Scott are already out injured, and Jonah Tong is still not ready to make a full-time jump to the big leagues. Kodai Senga, recently back from the injured list, is still stuck in the mud.
Even the so-called established arms are struggling. While Nolan McLean appears to have overcome early-season bobbles, Freddy Peralta is coming off a career-worst outing in which he allowed 10 runs on Saturday in Philadelphia.
There are no other legitimate reinforcements, either. It’s why Sean Manaea is back in the rotation (and proving he can stick) when other teams might have cut ties with him a month ago.
“There’s no other way to look around it,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “These are the guys that we’re counting on, and we need to help them. We have no off-days, so people need to step up. We’ll have conversations. We expect more out of them.”
For more on David Peterson and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
