NEW YORK — The Mets might be down a pivotal player or four thanks to injuries and illness, but you certainly wouldn’t be able to tell on Sunday.
Behind David Peterson, pitching for an injured Taijuan Walker, the Mets put together some timely hits, made good on some pivotal errors, benefited from Pete Alonso’s third homer of the season, and took the rubber game from the Diamondbacks, 5-0, at Citi Field. They’ve won seven of the first 10 games of the season, despite starting it without Jacob deGrom, losing Walker to right shoulder bursitis, and playing without Mark Canha and Brandon Nimmo, who are on the COVID-19 list.
Peterson gave the Mets everything they could have wanted: Going 4 1/3 innings, allowing three hits — one a tough-luck double — and no earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts. What’s more, some of the things that plagued him during last season’s sophomore slump — fastball location and difficulty setting up his slider — looked better resolved against an admittedly anemic Diamondbacks lineup. With his performance, the Jacob deGrom-less rotation has an ERA of 1.07.
