David Peterson’s struggles on the mound hit another low point Wednesday night. Peterson tossed 3 ²/₃ innings in a 9-2 loss to the Cardinals and allowed six earned runs, including two homers to Nelson Velázquez and Jordan Walker.
Perhaps the most pivotal moment of Peterson’s appearance was when he faced Masyn Winn in the third inning with two outs.
The count was 0-2, but Peterson threw three straight balls and wound up walking Winn. Velázquez’s two-run homer came on the next pitch.
Peterson left the clubhouse Wednesday night before media entered despite being requested. He spoke to reporters Thursday morning before the afternoon finale against St. Louis.
When asked what’s frustrating him the most to this point, Peterson mentioned getting ahead in counts and still struggling to get guys out.
“Getting some quick outs, then getting into deep counts, end up walking a couple guys … they came back to bite me with a couple of misexecuted pitches on the home runs,” Peterson said.
Peterson, with the departures of several longtime Mets last offseason, is now the longest-tenured player on the team, having made his debut in 2020.
He’s seen the peaks and valleys of the past several Mets seasons — a 101-win season in 2022, an NLCS berth in 2024 and a historic collapse in 2025.
“It takes a long time to have a good year. We’ve been in spots where we’ve been up in the standings, and kind of come back and spots where we’ve been in the basement and found a way out,” he said. “It’s not gonna all get made up at once. It’s not gonna happen overnight.”
Peterson emphasized the importance of taking things one game at a time during this rocky stretch. Peterson, who has a 5.75 ERA on the year, is a free agent after this season.
He was asked whether he finds it difficult to isolate that fact from his recent struggles.
“It’s not really any of my focus,” Peterson shared. “There’s nothing that I can do right now, there’s nothing I can control right now about that process and what’s gonna happen at the end of the year.
“I think the best strategy for me is to focus one day at a time, focus on each time I take the ball, and being the best version of myself that I can be every time I do.”