Francisco Lindor blasts leadoff homer off Freddy Peralta in rightys first game against Mets after trade

Freddy Peralta wasn’t greeted warmly by his former team.The Rays righty allowed a home run to leadoff man Francisco Lindor in the first inning at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night to open his first start against the Mets since he was dealt at the trade deadline.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.

Lindor sent a 3-2 curveball over the wall in right for his 15th homer of the year to give the Mets a short-lived 1-0 lead before the Rays tied things against Sean Manaea in the bottom of the frame.The Amazin’s missed a chance to do more damage after having runners on first and second with one out, failing to plate another run in the opening inning.Peralta ended up striking out three — including Lindor — in the second.The 30-year-old Peralta was acquired in an offseason trade with the Brewers and was expected to be the Mets’ ace, but was a big part of the team’s disappointing season.He went 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA and 1.48 WHIP over 22 starts in orange and blue, often laboring to get through five innings.     He denied that his struggles were because of the pressures of pitching in New York.“I don’t see pressure,” Peralta said Monday.

“It’s a way bigger market and there’s a lot more fans, people there, and everybody is paid to win for every day.I enjoyed those kinds of moments when I was in New York, but I don’t see it as pressure.”Peralta’s biggest contribution to the Mets was arguably arranging a sit-down meeting between Lindor and fellow star Juan Soto, per ESPN, to help the duo improve their chilly relationship from the 2025 season, which ended in a historic collapse. Injuries to both players kept Lindor and Soto from being in the lineup together often early in 2026 and contributed to the Mets being in a position to sell at the trade deadline.   They ended up sending Peralta to the American League East-leading Rays for three of Tampa ...