Milwaukee still loves him, but Freddy Peralta will try beating the Brewers in World Series Game 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Freddy Peralta spent his first eight major league seasons trying to help the Milwaukee Brewers earn the World Series berth that continually eluded them.

Peralta is finally in the Fall Classic. So are the Brewers. Just on opposite sides.

Even in a different uniform, Peralta has received cheers from the Milwaukee crowds as his Tampa Bay Rays try to prevent the Brewers from winning their first World Series title. Peralta will be Tampa Bay’s starting pitcher in Game 3 on Monday in St. Petersburg, Florida. Milwaukee leads the Series 2-0.

“It is a little weird,” Peralta said Saturday. “I’ve been trying to focus on what I have to focus because even when I came out yesterday for practice, all the people, all the fans here (were) showing me some love, screaming my name. Also, when I went to the bullpen last night, they were telling me, ‘We still love you.’ It’s amazing.”

Perhaps this strange situation is the most fitting way for Peralta’s roller-coaster season to conclude.

Peralta went 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA for the New York Mets before going to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline. Just over two months later, he was named the most valuable player of the AL Championship Series.

Tampa Bay has won each of Peralta’s last nine starts. He has posted an MLB-leading 0.90 ERA during that stretch. Peralta has allowed two runs over 16 2/3 innings this postseason.

“I feel like he’s kind of come back to being Freddy Peralta with us,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Shining with the Rays after struggling with the Mets

Peralta went 70-42 with a 3.59 ERA for the Brewers from 2018-25, making two All-Star teams. He had only one year remaining on his contract when the Brewers traded him in January for pitcher Brandon Sproat and infielder Jett Williams.

As the Mets struggled this season, Peralta endured one of the worst stretches of his career. He allowed seven runs over 5 1/3 innings in an 8-3 loss at Milwaukee on July 20 that caused his ERA to rise to 5.01.

“We knew when he faced us (with) the Mets, that wasn’t him,” Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff said. “I could see it visually. I’d seen him throw about every pitch in the big leagues up until this year.”

Peralta was asked Saturday what went wrong in New York.

“Sometimes I ask the same question myself,” Peralta replied. “I don’t try to make excuses and all that. The good thing, I was feeling really good physically. I was trying to give the best of myself as always, and I prepared how I should be preparing. But I don’t know. For some reason, things weren’t going my way.”

Peralta would make one more appearance for the Mets before they sent him to Tampa Bay for a package of prospects including outfielder Aidan Smith, infielder Émilien Pitre and pitcher Gary Gill Hill.

Winning friends in the clubhouse

Cash said he got a call shortly after the trade from San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames, who started his career at Tampa Bay before playing alongside Peralta in Milwaukee from 2021-24.

Adames’ message to Cash was that the Rays were getting one of the best guys in baseball. Sure enough, Peralta made an instant impact in the locker room.

“An extreme vibes guy,” Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said. “He’s always smiling. I’ve never seen him not smile. From the time he steps foot in the clubhouse to the time he leaves, he’s always working. He’s on the first bus in and the last bus out.”

Peralta’s turnaround with Tampa Bay wasn’t immediate.

He allowed 17 runs over 21 1/3 innings in his first four appearances with the Rays as his ERA climbed to 5.11. But he caught fire from there and ended up going 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 regular-season starts with Tampa Bay.

Cash credits Peralta for communicating what he needed to do to get better and going out and doing it. As his fastball velocity improved, so did his results.

“He’s in his element, man,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “That’s ‘Fastball Freddy.’ Changeup’s been great, a pitch that he really worked on here and got better.”

Peralta wants to give the Rays their first World Series title, even at his former team’s expense. Peralta didn’t pitch in the first two games in Milwaukee because Cash wanted to save him for Tropicana Field, where the right-hander has sparkled in three playoff starts.

“I know how special it is to pitch on this mound here in Milwaukee,” Peralta said. “I would like to pitch here during the postseason.”

If the World Series extends to six or seven games, he might get that chance.

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