The New York Mets make a trip each year to Colorado but somehow the schedule hasn’t lined up for Denver resident David Peterson.
The New York lefty has never pitched a major league game in his town but that will change when he takes the mound for the Mets in the last of a three-game series against the Rockies.
Peterson (5-1, 3.47 ERA) will try to give New York the series win when he goes up against Austin Gomber (3-7, 4.66) in a matinee matchup. The Mets dropped the first game of the series Monday but bounced back with a rally in the ninth inning on Tuesday to win 5-3.
Peterson grew up in Denver, attended Regis Jesuit High School and is good friends with Colorado lefty Kyle Freeland but both of his outings against his hometown team have been at Citi Field in Queens. He is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in those starts — one in 2021 and one in 2022 — but returns to the thin air where he was a prep star.
As a freshman, he helped lead Regis Jesuit to the 2011 Class 5A title with a one-hit shutout in the semifinals.
The stakes will be a little higher against the Rockies but Peterson’s ready for it.
“It’s exciting. I kind of missed it by one day or another every time we’ve come out here, and I wasn’t on the trip last year. It’ll be fun to pitch at home in front of my family and have plenty of people here,” Peterson told Patrick Lyons of the Just Baseball Podcast. “At the end of the day, it’s still a start. I’m still pitching for the Mets, go about my routine, go about my business the same way, it will just be nice to have people in the stands.”
Those rooting for Peterson hope Jake Cave doesn’t spoil his Coors Field debut. Cave, who was traded to Colorado by the Philadelphia Phillies a week before the first game of the season, has five home runs, all since July 4, and has been dangerous late in games.
He had two hits in the Rockies’ loss Wednesday and a big home run in their win Tuesday and has provided leadership for the younger players.
“What Jake brings is a veteran presence with everyday energy, everyday intensity,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “Whether he’s playing or not, he brings it every day, from the time he walks through the doors. It’s the guy plus the talent, which is a good combination.”
Gomber, who is 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA in four career starts against New York, will try to do what no other Colorado starter has done this series — avoid injury. On Tuesday night, Freeland left in the fifth inning with a blister and, on Wednesday night, Ryan Feltner was pulled after an inning with a muscle injury that Black said will likely land him on the injured list.
Gomber has been a workhorse for this staff and has pitched well at home, where he is 1-1 with a 3.83 ERA in nine starts. The Rockies are 5-4 in those outings.
–Field Level Media