Two Strategic Flaws Derailed An Otherwise Strong Start For Freddy Peralta

[Jack Stern]

Freddy Peralta was carving through the Seattle Mariners until a rocky sixth inning. The end of his outing exposed flaws that he must correct to be a reliable ace atop the rotation.

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

It was a tale of two outings for Freddy Peralta on Friday night.

Making his second start of the season, Peralta appeared on his way to a successful follow-up to his excellent Opening-Day outing. He allowed one hit through his first five innings, striking out seven and inducing 12 swinging strikes.

Things took a turn in the sixth. After J.P. Crawford snuck a leadoff single through the left side of the infield, Seattle began ambushing Peralta’s fastball. Mitch Haniger turned around a fastball on the black of the inside corner for a single down the third base line, Mitch Garver hit a sharp line drive to center for a sacrifice fly, and Cal Raleigh lined a ball to deep right field for another run-scoring hit.

Peralta’s pitch selection throughout this sequence was questionable. As the Mariners kept making loud contact on fastballs, Peralta kept throwing them. 61% of the pitches he threw in the sixth were heaters.

He didn’t mix in more breaking balls, which induced 10 of his 13 total whiffs, and had hitters looking foolish through the first five innings. A slider Peralta threw to Haniger produced the lone whiff of the sixth despite being up and over the plate. Instead of doubling up with another breaking ball, he returned to the fastball and paid for it.

Pat Murphy had a different explanation for the sixth-inning damage, alleging that Mariners runners could see the ball in Peralta’s glove from second base and relayed the pending pitch type to hitters. The Mariners did not start ambushing his fastball until Crawford advanced to second. A few minutes after Murphy’s assertion, Peralta said he was unaware opponents knew what was coming in the inning.

Whether pitch calling or pitch tipping contributed to the rough inning, both represent strategic flaws in Peralta’s game last night that became exposed. He’ll need to correct them to be the reliable ace the Brewers need him to be without Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff.

Keeping hitters off-balance is a fundamental aspect of pitching. When the Seattle batting order turned over a third time and started making louder contact against his fastball, Peralta should have known to lean more on his secondaries. Making in-game adjustments is often a key to navigating an order multiple times and pitching deep into games. Peralta must have that ability in his toolbox.

If runners were sneaking a peek at the inside of Peralta’s glove, he must find a way to obstruct their view. That could require adjusting how he comes set when pitching out of the stretch.

The outing was a reminder that while Peralta has the stuff to lead a rotation, there remains room for growth. Whether he takes another step forward has significant implications for a starting staff with few reliable innings-eaters.

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[LaprilOne]

Good analysis.  I was there, and it was so odd how they suddenly dialed it in against Peralta.  Curious, do you think Contreas could have done more to get him back on track, maybe guide him away from some bad pitch selections?