Freddy Peralta Throws Past The Guardians To Even Up ALCS

The hard-throwing right-hander Freddy Peralta of the Tampa Bay Rays struck out six in six scoreless innings to even up the ALCS with the Cleveland Guardians, using his heat to get the job done.

“Fastball Freddy,” as they call him, relies heavily on his fastball. He threw 29 fastballs over 97 mph, according to MLB.com, and his placement matches his speed.

The Rays acquired Peralta from the New York Mets in August as part of their offseason moves, knowing his go-to pitch. The Guardians never got more than a single off Peralta in the outing, as the bats couldn’t catch up to the pitch, even though in the big moments they knew it was coming.

Peralta’s release angle, about halfway to sidearm, makes it harder to throw fast and promotes a more movement-heavy pitcher. Teammate Ian Seymour praised it, saying, “His ability to throw that fastball from that angle, I don’t know anyone has that heater.”

His opponents also praised him, with Steven Kwan of the Guardians saying he has “an elite fastball.”

Even though Peralta was fantastic, the Rays needed a defensive error from José Ramírez in the fourth inning to extend the lead, and all three runs came in after that, which was crucial when the Guardians scored after Peralta was pulled.

Peralta was in a slump in New York, posting a 4.99 ERA before the Rays acquired him, and now looks like the Peralta we saw in Milwaukee.

Peralta would be good to go in the later stages of this series if it’s extended and would be an obvious choice after this outing.

The series heads back to Cleveland for Game 3.