Freddy Peralta gives up 7 runs in debut with Rays as struggles on the mound continue
Freddy Peralta’s start with the Tampa Bay Rays did not go well on Tuesday night.
Peralta struggled in his first start with the franchise, just days after they landed him in a deal with the New York Mets. Peralta gave up nine hits and seven runs in less than four innings in their 9-7 win in extra innings over the Colorado Rockies.
Not great.
The Mets gave up several prospects to acquire Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers this past offseason. He was coming off his best campaign in the league, too, with a 2.70 ERA while in Wisconsin. But Peralta stumbled badly with the Mets, and posted a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts with the organization — which marked his worst performance since 2019 — and took a step back in nearly every statistic. Even after this final start, knowing that he was likely to be dealt, the 30-year-old felt like he failed.
“I know that, so far, I’ve let them down,” he said last month. “I haven’t done what I’m supposed to do.”
So then, ahead of the deadline, the Mets called it. They sent Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for several prospects on Sunday. Peralta will hit free agency this winter, so his time with the Rays may end up being short.
But when the Rays missed out on the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes — Skubal instead was traded to the Dodgers — they attempted to land the next best thing. In theory, that was Peralta. But he looked like anything but that on Tuesday.
The Rays jumped up 5-1 in the third inning, thanks in part to a grand slam from Liam Hicks, and looked like they were well on their way to a big win. But in the bottom of that inning, Peralta gave up an RBI single from Ezequiel Tovar and then a three-run homer from Mickey Moniak.
Contract extension 🤝 3-run homer pic.twitter.com/NEPOPiQKQt
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 5, 2026
Then in the next inning, Willi Castro hit a two-run shot of his own. That was when the Rays ended Peralta’s night, suddenly down two runs after a strong start.
Willi gives us the lead!! pic.twitter.com/EtmsgfWWqQ
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 5, 2026
The Rays did tie it up in the ninth after Jonathan Aranda hit a two-RBI single to force extra innings. They then escaped with the win after Ben Williamson scored on a wild pitch and then Junior Caminero hit an RBI single in the 11th.
The Rockies sit at 45-67 on the season after the loss. They are still in last in the NL West race, and are almost certainly out of the playoff hunt. The Rays, who are leading the AL East, are now 67-46.
While Peralta has more than proven himself as a reliable starter throughout his career, his struggles in New York have clearly followed him down to Florida. Whether he’s able to turn things around by the time the postseason hits and actually produce for the Rays remains to be seen.
