Peralta Finishes Strong in Outing Against the Yankees

Freddy Peralta made his second start of spring training Sunday against the New York Yankees, completing three innings for the second consecutive outing. He allowed two earned runs on three hits and a walk, reaching a total of 45 pitches. An uptick from the 29 pitches in his previous outing against the St. Louis Cardinals back on February 27.

The Yankees wasted no time attacking Peralta, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Spencer Jones dropped an RBI single into shallow left field in front of A.J. Ewing to make it 1-0. Shortly after, Seth Brown drove Jones in with an RBI single of his own to make it 2-0. That would be all the Yankees would do against the Mets’ ace.

Peralta was sharp the rest of the way, retiring the next six batters in order. Four of those outs were via the strikeout, with two coming on the four-seam fastball and the other two on the curveball. He was efficient, as it took him just 24 pitches to get through the second and third innings.

After the Yankees scored two quick runs, Peralta spoke about utilizing his changeup and curveball with more frequency. “I saw that they were swinging early. As you see, they hit two bloopers. I was like, I’m going to miss a little bit and see what happens after that,” Peralta said to the SNY crew. That decision certainly paid off.

“Fastball Freddy” has that nickname for a reason. In every season of his big league career, he has thrown his four-seam fastball at least 50% of the time. It’s an effective pitch, as opponents hit .209 against him in his last season. But it’s clear Peralta’s utilization of his changeup and curveball will be crucial to his season-long success. If those pitches can continue to induce soft contact and/or strikeouts as Opening Day approaches, he will be in great shape for the start of the season.

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