David Peterson received a shot in a key left-handed relief role Wednesday night — and he flopped.
Summoned to start the eighth inning for the Mets, who had a two-run lead after Max Scherzer had fired seven scoreless frames, Peterson walked Anthony Rizzo before Gleyber Torres homered to tie the score. Peterson was removed after striking out the next batter, Matt Carpenter.
Peterson’s letdown only underscored the need for the Mets to address lefty relief heading to the trade deadline Tuesday.
Before the Mets’ 3-2 victory over the Yankees, manager Buck Showalter said Peterson, even with Jacob deGrom on the cusp of a return to the rotation, likely will be stretched out for starting duty. That will mean optioning the left-hander to Triple-A Syracuse if the Mets indeed have a full rotation next week.
The Mets have a doubleheader scheduled against the Braves on Aug. 6 at Citi Field. Another doubleheader is scheduled for Aug. 20 in Philadelphia. In both instances, Peterson could be the extra starter. Peterson last started on July 17 in Chicago and has appeared twice in relief since.
The doubleheaders aside, Showalter wants Peterson stretched out as insurance against an injury to a starting pitcher after deGrom joins veterans Scherzer, Taijuan Walker, Chris Bassitt and Carlos Carrasco in the rotation.
A day after returning to the team, Wayne Kirby was back in the first-base coaching box. Kirby underwent surgery last week for prostate cancer.
Trevor May allowed one run in one inning for Syracuse on Wednesday in his second rehab appearance. The right-hander is expected to pitch in back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday before potentially rejoining the Mets for the series at Washington that will begin Monday.
Edwin Diaz’s four-out appearance Tuesday was his 14th career save of more than one inning and his fifth with the Mets. The right-hander moved into a seventh-place tie with Tug McGraw on the franchise’s all-time saves list with 86.