Freddy Peralta strikes out six in no-decision

Peralta surrendered two runs in the third on three singles and a walk. The rest of the damage came in the fifth, which was very nearly a scoreless frame. However, an overturned call correctly got Christian Yelich second base ahead of Junior Caminero’s relay on a grounder to third with two outs. Peralta was then pulled with the bases loaded, and the Brewers went on to score eight runs, collecting four straight hits off Cam Booser and two more off Cole Sulser before the inning finally concluded. It was probably a very disappointing end to a stellar postseason run for Peralta, who was the ALCS MVP against the Guardians. But there’s still a chance the Rays will rally and give him one more chance.

Peralta will be facing his former team in the Fall Classic, and is a big reason why Tampa Bay was able to advance. He didn’t allow a run until the sixth, and he scattered five hits while striking out three in the series-clinching victory. In his two starts against the Guardians in the ALCS, Peralta allowed just one run over 11 1/3 innings. Game 1 of the World Series is Friday, and it seems likely the 30-year-old will start one of those first two games for the Rays in Milwaukee.

Peralta will start two days after getting two outs in relief in Game 4. He previously started Game 2 of the season, shutting out the Guardians for six innings in the Rays’ 3-1 victory.

Peralta allowed four hits, walked two and struck out six while topping out at 99.4 mph on the radar gun tonight. His 96.9 mph average with his fastball was 2.6 mph better than his mark from the regular season. Including his two postseason outings, he’s gone eight straight starts without allowing more than one run. The ALCS will resume in Cleveland on Thursday, with Griffin Jax — not Nick Martinez — and Gavin Williams slated to start.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters that they’ll go game-by-game with their entire pitching staff for the remainder of the series following Peralta’s outing. The 30-year-old former Brewers ace limited the Yankees to one run over 4 2/3 innings during his Tampa Bay playoff debut last week.

Peralta was gone from the contest by the time Tampa Bay erupted for four runs in the fifth inning. He did his job early on, limiting New York to just a solo homer by Ben Rice. He struck out three and only issued one walk. The 30-year-old has looked completely rejuvenated over the last couple weeks, posting a microscopic 0.79 ERA across 34 innings during his final six regular-season outings. He’ll be ready to take the ball if the Yankees somehow manage to get the best-of-five series to a winner-take-all contest.

Peralta was one of the most effective starters in baseball during the closing month of the regular season where he posted a 0.96 ERA and 23/9 K/BB ratio across five starts in the month of September. The 30-year-old former Brewers ace will be making his seventh career postseason start and 10th appearance overall since 2018.

Peralta’s Tampa Bay resurgence concluded nicely, at least for the regular season, with another strong outing here. The first five innings were a breeze with five scattered base runners, but he ran into trouble during his third time around the Phillies’ order in the sixth with consecutive base hits to start the frame. At that point, he was pulled and reliever Cam Booser escaped the jam without letting either inherited runner score. Peralta’s fastball continues to gain velocity and it averaged a shade over 96 mph in this start, nearly two ticks above his season average. That pitch also had an extra inch of induced vertical break and he’s entering the postseason without allowing more than one earned run in six straight starts.

Peralta was outstanding on Sunday, holding the Astros scoreless through five no-hit innings. He stranded three walks and collected four strikeouts. Peralta had no pressure in this one as he got 11 runs of support before departing at 86 pitches. The 30-year-old right-hander will take a 4.67 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and a 146/58 K/BB ratio across 158 innings into a start against the Red Sox in Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Peralta gave up five hits, walked one and struck out two. He improved to 8-11 with the win. Peralta has now won his last three starts in a row while allowing only two runs in 18 innings. He’s lined up to face the Astros at home on Sunday.