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Peralta Has His Confidence Back, Along With His Fastball
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- Peralta Has His Confidence Back, Along With His Fastball
Peralta Has His Confidence Back, Along With His Fastball
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The New York Mets ran into a buzzsaw named Freddy Peralta last night, and he looked nothing like the player who pitched for them through the first half of their season. Peralta downplayed his feelings going into the outing against his old team, saying he felt "a little bit of emotion," but clearly getting out of New York has done wonders for him.
"I have my confidence back," Peralta said in a piece written by Adam Berry of MLB.com . "I think that's a more important thing for a pitcher, when you trust in your stuff again."
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It was the second straight strong start for Peralta, who gave up just three hits and a run against the Mets in a strong six-inning outing that led to a 6-2 Tampa Bay win. He got off to a rough start by giving up a solo homer to Francisco Lindor to start the game, then singles to Bo Bichette and Carson Bange, but after that Peralta was nails.
"His last two outings, he's been kind of the pitcher that he's always been, and we feel really good with him," DH Yandy Díaz, who doubled and homered, said through interpreter Kevin Vera. "If he keeps doing what he's doing now, it's going to be a good rest of the season for him."
It hasn't been a good season at all for the Mets, and the trade for Peralta was a big part of that. He acted like this was just another game for him, which was a tough act to buy after all his struggles in New York.
"I feel really happy right now, but I know it's a business. It's nothing to do with that," Peralta said. "I just enjoyed the game today [the same] as any game, and [I'm] happy because we got the win."
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The key to Peralta's turnaround is his velocity, which has also risen since he's left New York. He fastball played at just over 97 mph last night, and when that happens he's a different pitcher.
"Fastball is my best pitch, and I just feel like a superhero when it's working," Peralta said. "Amazing."
Rays manager Kevin Cash has had multiple games to watch Peralta a closely, and he, too, is seeing a different pitcher. The right hander hasn't issued a walk in his last two starts, and that's a big part of the picture as well.
"He threw a heck of a ballgame," added Rays manager Kevin Cash. "I thought he handled his emotions incredibly well and, after the first, really got in sync with the delivery and the strike throwing."
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The Rays have worked with Peralta to make some mechanical adjustments, and the pitcher has regained the extension that made him so effective with the Milwaukee Brewers.
"I think he's pitching with a lot of conviction right now, and sometimes good results can get some more conviction," Cash said. "I think that's what we're seeing. Once he settled in after the first inning, [when he] sprayed a couple pitches around [and had] some longer at-bats … he got committed to the strike zone with, I think, the best fastball that we've seen him have for us."
