NEW YORK -- If the Mets make the playoffs, advance through October and win the World Series, David Peterson will have been a significant part of that success. Over the first half of this season, he was the Mets’ best starting pitcher. At times, it wasn’t all that close. Peterson was a deserving National League All-Star who helped the Mets jump out to the best record in baseball from March through mid-June.

Since then, however, Peterson has been a microcosm of everything that’s gone wrong in Flushing. On June 11, two days before everything began to turn for the Mets, Peterson threw a six-hit shutout to lower his ERA to 2.49.

In 16 starts since, he has a 5.34 ERA. It’s a trend that has only worsened recently; after giving up six more runs Wednesday in a 7-4 loss to the Padres, Peterson

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