David Peterson threw his third career 10-strikeout game.

After Friday’s scheduled starter Chris Bassitt landed on the COVID IL, David Peterson took the hill and delivered a solid outing as the Mets defeated the Rangers 4-3 at Citi Field. Peterson tied a career high 10 strikeouts on the mound, it was the third time the southpaw fanned 10 batters in his Major League career.

Manager Buck Showalter notes the crucial performance from his starter, given the birth of his first child; a boy, due any day now. Peterson will take paternity leave, with his wife already one week past the due date.

“You can make the case for what Pete’s done,” said Showalter. “Especially under the circumstances with his wife, and expecting a phone call. I’m sure there are a lot of things going through his head. We can talk about a lot of things in that game. But his outing was probably the key part of it. Especially under the circumstances.”

Rangers’ right hander Glenn Otto had a scoreless game through three frames. But the Mets found an answer in the fourth, in which they scored all four of their runs. Mark Canha hit an RBI single to drive in Francisco Lindor home and put New York on board. Eduardo Escobar then followed with a three-run homer to right field, his seventh long ball of the season.

Following six innings in which he allowed three earned runs on five hits, including two solo home runs, Peterson improved to 5-1 with a 3.24 ERA on the year. The slider was a key weapon for the 2017 MLB draft first round pick, which he utilized to put away seven of the 10 hitters he struck out.

“I love the fact that after the home runs, he (Peterson) got back on the horse; and got the next people out,” said Showalter. “Didn’t let it snowball. That’s a real sign of maturity.”

The bullpen threw three scoreless innings to secure the one run lead victory over Texas. Edwin Diaz picked up his seventeenth save of the season, in a dominant ninth inning with two strikeouts.