WASHINGTON - The Mets' rotation is close to being (mostly) whole, which is especially significant because David Peterson does not look particularly close to being the valuable arm he was last year.
Peterson was pounded by the Nationals - an offense that entered scoring the fifth-fewest runs in MLB - in a 10-3 loss at Nationals Park on Monday, which might have been the lefty's last major league chance for a while.
After allowing six runs on nine hits with two walks in five innings, Peterson's ERA is 8.08, which would be the highest in baseball if he logged enough innings to qualify.
The less-advanced stat that hurts more is the Mets have lost seven of his eight starts.
With Carlos Carrasco expected to rejoin the rotation this week and Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander healthy enough to pitch - and with Tylor Megill outperforming Peterson - it is likely Peterson gets sent down to Triple-A.
It is possible the Mets could keep him up for a home start Sunday against the Guardians, which would enable Verlander to receive an extra day of rest that the Mets value, but Peterson has made it difficult to receive another shot.
"He's been inconsistent with his command," manager Buck Showalter said of the 27-year-old, who only has reached six innings in one start this season. "A lot of balls in the middle of the plate, and major league hitters are going to hit those pitches.
"You keep thinking he's getting ready to find his stuff and give you five or six innings, and it just has never happened for him."
The Mets were in a hole after just six pitches from Peterson, who allowed a first-pitch double to Lane Thomas, a fly out that moved him over and an RBI double to Joey Meneses.
Washington scored a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings, tattooing hit after hit against Peterson. In the third, the biggest damage came from another Meneses RBI double.
In the fourth, the defense could not help out Peterson, who watched Dominic Smith score from third because Francisco Alvarez's throw to second on a successful steal attempt escaped into center field.
But Peterson also could not help himself out, and Luis Garcia followed by bouncing an RBI single through the left side.
Showalter identified a chief problem as Peterson's lacking a go-to pitch, and Peterson acknowledged he still is searching for the excellent slider he had last year.
He believes he is close to fixing the offering, but it wasn't good enough against Washington.
"Not getting off to a great start with the slider has been something that has been kind of frustrating," said Peterson, whose slider induced five whiffs on 16 swings. "Made some changes mechanically that didn't end up working for us, and so kind of went back to the old way I set up and went through my motion."
Peterson, who had just one 1-2-3 inning, allowed his sixth and final run in the fifth, when Smith contributed an RBI single.
"You can always go through tough stretches," Peterson said. "Just kind of finding your way out of it and continuing with your work and keep going until you get it right."