Freddy Peralta rode his fastball to the American League Championship Series MVP award, helping the Tampa Bay Rays win their third AL pennant in franchise history. Acquired from the New York Mets before the trade deadline, Peralta turned his season around. He went 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, against the Cleveland Guardians.
Rays manager Kevin Cash announced the honor on the postgame stage at Tropicana Field, calling him "Fastball Freddy." Peralta relied on his overpowering four-seamer throughout the series. He allowed one run and five hits over 5⅓ innings in a 7-3 win Monday night, tossed six scoreless innings in Game 2, and recorded two important outs in relief in Game 4.
Peralta now faces his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers, in the World Series. He spent eight seasons with Milwaukee, going 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA last year, before the Brewers traded him to the Mets in January. After going 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA for New York, he was 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts for Tampa Bay and was named AL pitcher of the month for September.
Peralta credited pitching coach Kyle Snyder, bullpen coach Jorge Moncada and bullpen catcher Charlie Valerio for his turnaround. "I can't thank them enough," he said. He could pitch Game 2 in Milwaukee or Game 3 at Tropicana Field.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing