David Peterson looked anything but a 24-year-old making his major league debut on Tuesday night.
The 2017 first-round pick seized the moment in the Mets’ 8-3 win over the Red Sox, going 5.2 strong innings, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits.
“This is one of the greatest days of my life,” Peterson said after the game. “This is something that I wanted to do since I was a little kid. To go out there and make my first major league start and we got the win, I mean, yeah, I couldn’t have asked for much more.
“One of the best days in my life and I’ll never forget this.”
The 6-foot-6 lefty doesn’t throw all that hard, as his fastball topped out at 94 MPH, but he seemed to be in complete control, looking more like a seasoned veteran than a rookie making his first ever start in the majors.
Peterson struck out three hitters, including the dangerous J.D. Martinez twice. One of those strikeouts came in the bottom of the third inning with the bases loaded and no outs. But even faced with adversity, Peterson had the confidence to throw the powerful Martinez a 3-2 changeup and strike him out swinging.
“His poise, again, for me is something that really stands out for him. (He just has) great poise, his maturity, just how he’s able to handle the scenario,” said Luis Rojas.
“Bases loaded, no outs and you’re facing that tough lineup, and this kid was not shying away, just going after (hitters), using the changeup in different counts, 3-2 changeup that he threw to J.D. I thought that was an amazing selection there. You’ve got to have that poise, that confidence, if you’re going to throw that pitch in your big league debut.”
Peterson admitted that he had plenty running through his mind as he took the mound at Fenway Park for his debut, but he was able to push that all to the side and focus on the game.
“There are a lot of thoughts going on in your head. There’s a lot that goes with this day of making my debut and all that,” said Peterson. “At the end of the day, once the game starts I have a job to do, and that’s to go out there and pitch and try not to let them get anything and get as deep as I can in the ballgame.
“Once the game started and I started warming up and everything, it was just me playing baseball.”
The University of Oregon product, selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2017 draft, gave plenty of credit to the defense behind him, including J.D. Davis, who perfectly played a ball off the green monster to nab Jose Peraza at second base to start the game.
But Peterson’s teammates were also quick to praise the lefty’s performance on the mound in one of the biggest moments of his life.
“He was filthy tonight,” said Robinson Cano.
Thanks in part to Peterson, the Mets have now swept both games in Boston and will come back to Citi Field for two more games beginning Wednesday night.