3 NY Mets players who’ve helped confirm they found their new Grimace last Sunday

2) David Peterson

David Peterson could very well be 2-0 in the second half. A pair of 6 inning performances with a single earned run charged to him, he’s sitting with a 0.75 ERA since the Pablo Sanchez era began. He was the one who helped to start the winning streak. He dipped his toes back in with an actual victory versus the Giants. Both games were tight one-run victories for the Mets with Peterson getting a Jacob deGrom-like treatment of very little run support.

Peterson continues to establish himself as the most reliable starting pitcher the Mets have. A worthy All-Star who hasn’t melted after receiving the honor, Peterson’s late bloom is one we haven’t seen in quite some time. In fact, when was the last time the Mets had a truly good homegrown starting pitcher? We have to go back to the early days of Steven Matz. Even he was never as good as Peterson has been for this length of time.

Because he was the starting pitcher at the beginning of this streak, we can consider Peterson a “stopper” in the rotation. Those pitchers aren’t always easy to find. Sometimes it’s a bit of a coincidence. Do hitters fade for certain starters? Does the pitcher reach deeper within when the team needs him more?

A lot of it is theoretical and immeasurable. Peterson hasn’t looked like the kid he did even last season. Ready or not, this bulldog is the team’s ace.