PARADE
two-hour rain delay the game was called. So, that start was wiped out of the records and by the time the Mets came back to make up that game, Wheeler was back on the disabled list.
Wheeler said he mostly remembers being hustled into the laundry room to do interviews after the rained out game from his last visit here. So he was looking forward to pitching at SunTrust Sunday with friends and family in the stands.
And it would have been a sweet homecoming for Wheeler, who is back in the rotation after a rough 2017, and a demotion to the minor leagues after struggling through spring training. The former first-round draft pick struggled last season after a setback-filled, two-year return from 2015 Tommy John surgery. He started out strong in 2017, pitching so well the Mets scrapped plans to start him in extended spring training, but tired out quickly. He went 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA in 17 starts. His last start of the year was July 22, before he was shut down for a stress reaction in his biceps.
This spring, Wheeler revamped his delivery to try to take some stress off his elbow and could
IUSA TODAY not consistently stick with it. Wheeler was demoted to Triple-A the last week in spring training, sent to the minors with the challenge to find some consistency and learn to keep his pitch counts low.
In two starts since being called back up to the majors, Wheeler has done both. He is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA going into Tuesday’s start.
His efficiency allowed him to become the first Mets starter to pitch into the seventh this season. Without his best stuff against the Nationals last week, Wheeler got through the sixth and held them to three runs on mostly soft-contact hits. t said a lot about how far Wheeler has come this season when the Mets made a move to put Matt Harvey in the bullpen this week instead of sending Wheeler back to the minors, which had been the original plan. “I think Wheeler is throwing the ball really well,” Callaway said. “I think he deserves to stay in the rotation at this point. That’s fairly obvious to me. That’s why we made the decision we did. He’s been solid. Now he just has got to keep it going.”