With Freddy Peralta on the mound, the Mets felt pretty good that their long losing streak could come to an end on Saturday afternoon.And it was looking good at first. Peralta was matching Cubs starter Jameson Taillon pitch for pitch and held Chicago to just one run over the first five innings. However, the game changed in the sixth.Peralta got the first two batters out before Ian Happ came to the plate.

The outfielder had taken Perala deep earlier in the game, so the right-hander was sure to be a bit more careful, but Happ walked on seven pitches. Seiya Suzuki was next, and Peralta got ahead in the count 2-2. However, Suzuki didn't bite on back-to-back sliders low and out of the zone and he walked.

That spelled the end of Peralta's start."I thought I was still competing there," Peralta said of the sixth inning. "Was a very good at-bat from both of them. But I think that I pitched good against Suzuki too.

He took a very good at-bat."Manager Carlos Mendoza brought in Brooks Raley and Cubs skipper Craig Counsell called Carson Kelly to pinch-hit in the spot. Kelly would ambush Raley's first-pitch cutter and deposit a three-run shot into the Wrigley Field crowd. That home run would prove to be the difference in the 4-2 win for the Cubs."Tried to move the ball around.

Two-out walk to Happ. The Suzuki one, was the one that hurt him," Mendoza said of Peralta's outing. "Ended up costing the game there.

He was pretty good, only two walks, and unfortunately, it was the two towards the end there. Overall, I thought he was pretty good, but, again, two outs, two walks ended up costing us." "They had a big swing, made a good move putting Kelly in there," Marcus Semien said.

"I played with that guy, he can do that. And he did it to us today."The home run made Peralta the pitcher on record on the losing end. He allowed three runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out three batters across his 5.2 innings pitched.

It's the third time in his first five starts this season that Peralta has allowed at least three runs.Peralta was acquired this offseason to be the ace of the staff, and the stopper of streaks like this. Unfortunately for Peralta and the Mets, his two walks led to their downfall and their 10th straight loss, the franchise's longest losing streak in over 20 years.The right-hander was asked if he felt extra pressure on Saturday to try and stop the streak, and Peralta disagreed with the notion."No, no pressure. I have a commitment to myself and everyone else.

Just trying to give my best as always," Peralta said. "I thought I was competing until the last pitch. Sometimes you can’t control some of the stuff that happens in a game."Mounting pressure or not, the Mets are looking to put together a complete game to finally break the losing streak.

The feeling in the locker room, including from Peralta, after Saturday's loss was to flush it and try again tomorrow. "We just have to keep preparing. I don’t know how difficult it is [to keep a positive mindset], but we’re professionals," Peralta said. "We have to stay together and win some games."