Tough Times Continue for David Peterson After Braves Loss

Friday night’s start against the Atlanta Braves was an opportunity David Peterson had to capitalize on and, for the first four innings, that was the case.

The 27-year-old was able to keep the opposing lineup off-balanced by mixing his changeup and curveball in to play off the four-seam fastball. It looked as if Peterson was well on his way for a bounce-back performance.

“I felt good,” Peterson said after the game. “I felt like I had all my pitches, I felt like I was executing. It was working different parts of the zone, moving pitches around and kind of keeping them off balance.”

David Peterson strikes out Matt Olson and Austin Riley in a 1-2-3 first inning pic.twitter.com/99LQdljehV

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 28, 2023

However, that was until the top of the fifth inning when Peterson ran into some trouble. Consecutive hits by Eddie Rosario and Kevin Pillar put two runners in scoring position with one out. Peterson got Michael Harris II to ground out into a fielders choice, as Rosario was thrown out trying to score. The Braves would cash in with Ronald Acuña Jr. in the batters box, though, as he lined a single into right field. On the next pitch, Matt Olson hit a ball to deep right field for a three-run home run, giving the Braves a 4-0 lead.

“I missed my spot on the fastball to Acuña and missed my spot on the slider to Olson,” Peterson said. “I felt I was there with all five of my pitches and it just so happens that the slider bit me with Olson.”

Peterson’s final line was five innings pitched, four runs allowed on five hits, one walk and six strikeouts. The lefty owns a record of 1-4 with a 7.34 ERA in 30 2/3 innings this season. He desperately needed a strong performance in order to stake a claim for his spot in the rotation, but that never came. With Justin Verlander ready to make his Mets debut as soon as next week, it could be Peterson who loses his spot in the rotation. Despite that looming threat, however, Peterson felt like he could take a lot of confidence from how he pitched through the first four innings of the game.

“It’s given me a lot of confidence,” Peterson said. “It’s been that way quite a bit this year where I’ve had my stuff, I’ve been able to execute my pitches and you look back and there’s been a couple of pitches that have cost me. I felt like I was in a good spot.”

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