Mets’ Comeback Falls Short in Loss to Rockies
Freddy Peralta and the New York Mets (9-17) took on the Colorado Rockies (11-16) looking to extend their winning streak to three games.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Friday night’s game kicked off a three-game set with the Rockies, marking the second series of a nine-game home-stand.
Peralta began the first inning in strong fashion. After retiring the first two batters, he issued a walk before retiring the fourth man he faced, avoiding any real damage. The Mets went down in order in the bottom half of the inning, keeping both teams scoreless after one.
After another strong inning from Peralta, Brett Baty led off the bottom of the second with a 96.3 mph double down the right field line. Mark Vientos followed with an infield single, leaving runners on the corners with nobody out. A Marcus Semien double-play drove in the first run of the game, scoring Baty from third. Carson Benge ripped a two-out single to keep and Tyrone Taylor reached on an error, keeping the inning alive. However, Ronny Mauricio grounded out to first, ending the second with the Mets leading 1-0.
After two-straight singles to begin the top of the fourth inning, a ball hit down the left field line looked like trouble, but Benge had other plans. A beautiful back-handed diving catch saved what could have been extra bases, giving Peralta a chance to get out of the inning. The right-hander did just that, forcing a pop-out and a strikeout to end the frame, keeping the Rockies scoreless.
The fifth inning did not treat Peralta as kindly, though. After getting lucky when Jake McCarthy was called out for batter’s interference when attempting a bunt, the next three batters reached base, loading the bases with one out. A weak groundout to Peralta up the first base line gave the Rockies a run. A strikeout ended the inning, and the score was tied at 1-1.
A scoring chance presented itself for the Mets in the bottom of the fifth when Taylor and Mauricio reached base on back-to-back singles with one out. However, another double play, this time by Bo Bichette, squandered the opportunity to score.
Peralta’s outing ended poorly in the sixth, a theme for him to begin the season. After recording the first out of the inning, three consecutive batters reached base, and an RBI double gave the Rockies a run. Peralta recorded the second out of the inning, his eighth strikeout of the contest, but was pulled before getting a chance to finish the inning.
Sean Manaea entered with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, and recorded a king-sized out with a strikeout. Peralta’s final line was: 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K.
Manaea returned to the mound for the seventh, but the inning did not go as well as the prior one had. A single, a hit-by-pitch, a sac bunt, and a two-run single extended the Rockies’ lead to 4-1. However, Manaea was able to keep the Rockies’ lead at three, striking out the next two batters.
After the Mets failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, Manaea returned to the mound for the eighth. Despite allowing a base runner, the inning went much better, striking out two and not allowing a run.
The Mets’ offense finally got going in the bottom of the eighth after singles by Mauricio and Bichette. A Soto line-out nearly resulted in a double play at first, with Bichette diving back into the base just in time. Francisco Alvarez followed Soto with a bloop single, loading the bases with one out. Baty cashed in with a two-run single up the middle, cutting the Rockies’ lead to one. Mark Vientos followed with a 107.7 mph line drive directly at the second baseman, who doubled off Tommy Pham at second base to end the inning.
Manaea stayed on for the ninth inning, working a quick one-two-three inning to keep the Mets within one. The left-hander had an up-and-down outing, allowing two runs over 3 1/3 innings while striking out seven.
The Mets came up in the bottom of the ninth looking to complete the comeback. Despite hitting the ball hard in their first two at-bats, both Semien and Benge were retired. MJ Melendez pinch-hit for Taylor, but struck out to end the game.
Final score: Rockies 4, Mets 3
Player of the Game: Freddy Peralta
Despite allowing seven hits over his 5 2/3 innings, Peralta worked nicely through heavy traffic on the bases. Although he picked up the losing decision, the right-hander allowed just two runs in the outing, lowering his season ERA to 3.90. As the season continues, Peralta will look to close his outings more efficiently, especially when facing lineups for a third time.
On Deck
The Mets will resume action on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. EST in the middle contest of the three-game set against Colorado. Kodai Senga will take the mound for his fifth start of the season, looking to try and find some semblance of effectiveness after his dreadful start to the 2026 season. He will face off against former Met Jose Quintana. The game will stream live on SNY and MLB.com, radio on WCBS 880 and the Audacy app.
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