Contributions from surprisingly effective starting pitchers Colin Rea and Julio Teheran have helped keep the Milwaukee Brewers atop the National League Central standings
The New York Mets may be running out of time for someone such as David Peterson to provide a similar boost
The Brewers will look to continue a successful road trip Tuesday night when visit the reeling Mets in the second game of a four-game series
Teheran (2-2, 1.53 ERA) is slated to start for the Brewers against Peterson (1-6, 8.08), who will be promoted from Triple-A Syracuse to make his first start for the Mets since May 15
Rea earned the win on Monday, tossing 6 1/3 innings and combining with a trio of relievers on a three-hitter as the Brewers edged the Mets 2-1
A two-run homer by Joey Wiemer in the sixth inning put Rea in line for his fourth victory of the season -- or three more wins than he had in 10 major league appearances from 2017-21. His 13 starts rank third on the Brewers, who have received just two starts this season from Brandon Woodruff (shoulder)
"He's had quite a journey, for sure," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said of Rea, who underwent Tommy John surgery following the 2016 season and split the past two seasons among the Brewers, their Triple-A affiliate in Nashville and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Japan. "He's been really important for us, kind of holding us together, holding our rotation together with some of the injuries we've had.
Teheran, who has 80 big-league wins but spent last season pitching in Mexico and the independent Atlantic League, has been an even bigger surprise for the Brewers since signing as a free agent in late May
The right-hander has pitched at least five innings in all six of his starts and surrendering just 33 baserunners in 35 1/3 frames. He didn't factor into the decision on Wednesday after tossing five scoreless innings in Milwaukee's 5-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Teheran is 10-9 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 career games (28 starts) against the Mets
Peterson was expected to open the season as rotation depth at Triple-A Syracuse before injuries to Justin Verlander, Carlos Carrasco and Jose Quintana forced him to take a regular turn for the Mets throughout the first month and a half. However, he gave up at least four runs in six starts, and he has the highest ERA of any pitcher who has made at least eight starts this year
A stretch of 10 games in as many days for the reeling Mets -- who have gone 6-16 this month to fall into fourth place in the NL East and 12th place overall in the NL -- created the need for a spot starter and another chance for Peterson
"Some people get on ERA for the season, some people look at the last two starts, some people look at who you're playing," Mets manager Buck Showalter said. "We look at all those things. And the conclusion was that (Peterson) was the best option.
Peterson posted a 4.86 ERA while going 1-2 in six starts at Syracuse. The left-hander gave up three runs over six innings against Durham on Wednesday.
Peterson is 0-1 with a 10.38 ERA in three games (two starts) against the Brewers. He allowed five runs on five hits with five walks and five strikeouts in four innings during a no-decision at Milwaukee on April 5
--Field Level Media