NEW YORK — Mets manager Carlos Mendoza already got what he needed from starter David Peterson by the time Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani stepped up to the plate with a chance to tie the game in the eighth inning.

Yet, despite closer Edwin Díaz being ready, Mendoza let Peterson face Ohtani a fourth time. And the result, like in his previous three plate appearances, wasn’t good for baseball’s three-time MVP.

After losing a slider up and in for a ball, Peterson challenged Ohtani with a sinker and two sliders — strike one, two, and three, leaving Ohtani 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

“I think he made him look human,” Mendoza said after Saturday’s 5-2 win.

“He’s just another hitter,” Peterson said after the game. “He’s one of nine in their lineup, and that’s how I look at everybody. Obviously, he’s a great player and he’s done what he’s done in this game, (but) they have a lot of great hitters over there.”

Entering Saturday’s game at Citi Field, Ohtani was batting .302 with a 1.040 OPS and had an NL-best 17 home runs. After Peterson, he walked away depleted average and OPS, and struck out three times for the first time since April 22.

How did Peterson do it?

“I’m not telling you that,” Peterson said with a sly smile. “We had our game plan, and when it’s time for the game, it’s all about executing.”

After depleting the bullpen in Friday’s 13-inning slog, Peterson provided the Mets with much-needed length on Saturday. The left-hander allowed two runs on five hits and two walks, and struck out seven in a career-high-matching 7 2/3 innings — the longest outing by a Mets’ starter this season.

“That’s a big boy performance right there,” Mendoza said. “For him to go back out for the eighth and just keeping the game there, giving us a chance to win a baseball game, that was pretty impressive.”

He handed the ball directly to Díaz, who recorded the final four outs for his 11th save of the season.