Bruce, Wheeler and mad dash help Mets recover from big loss
Stiff knee benches second baseman
ARLINGTON, Texas — The script was set, with the Mets bullpen blowing another lead and the scent of a rancid loss in the Texas air.
But the Mets kept playing Wednesday night and turned disappointment into something to savor. That included Matt Reynolds’ hustle — the seldom-used infielder kept running from second base on Jose Reyes’ slow grounder and scored the goahead run in the ninth to help the Mets secure a 4-3 victory over the Rangers at Globe Life Park.
“Hopefully this will get the ball rolling with us,” Reynolds said after the Mets snapped a two-game skid. “We’ve had a lot of letdowns, but we still have a positive attitude in the clubhouse and maybe we’ll get things rolling now.”
Reyes hit a chopper that Rougned Odor snagged behind second base, but the one-hop throw to the bag was dropped by Elvis Andrus, who stood staring at the ball as Reynolds kept his legs churning to home plate after picking up third-base coach Glenn Sherlock’s signal.
Jerry Blevins had flushed a 3-1 lead in the eighth, denying Zack Wheeler a deserved victory, by allowing a two-run homer to Robinson Chirinos. It was a rare misstep for the lefty Blevins, who had allowed only one homer in his previous 19 innings this season.
But Lucas Duda’s double in the ninth against Matt Bush signaled new life for the Mets. Curtis Granderson drew a two-out walk to extend the inning and was safe at second on Odor’s bounced throw and Reynolds, who had entered as a pinch runner, scored.
“We certainly needed one like that,” manager Terry Collins said. “We’ve lost enough games in a lot of different ways.”
In his five seasons with the Mets — two of which were lost to the disabled list — Wheeler has never carried the title “staff ace,” but a confluence of circumstances has now placed the righthander at least in consideration for the honor.
Start with the fact Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Robert Gsellman have been disappointments while Steven Matz and Seth Lugo await their initial appearances for the Mets this season. But then there is Wheeler, maybe on the best roll of his career.
“Right now he’s as steady as we’ve got,” Collins said.
Jay Bruce’s two home runs against Yu Darvish gave the Mets the offense they needed to take a 3-1 lead into the eighth.
Wheeler’s final act deep in the heart of Texas was retiring Delino DeShields on pitch No. 108 to leave two runners on base concluding the seventh.
Wheeler allowed one earned run on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts over the seven innings for a seventh straight start in which he surrendered three runs or fewer. Over that stretch he has posted a 2.41 ERA for a team in desperate need of the help. The Mets entered play last in the major leagues with a 5.01 ERA.
Over 7 ¹/3 innings Darvish allowed only three hits — two were homers to Bruce — to keep the Mets relatively quiet. A night earlier the Mets scored eight runs against Dillon Gee and the Rangers bullpen, but lost: deGrom was shelled for eight runs over four innings in the 10-8 defeat.
Bruce’s second homer on Wednesday, a solo blast to left field with two outs in the sixth, gave the Mets a 3-1 cushion.
“I feel like the two mistakes [Darvish] made he threw to me,” Bruce said.
Bruce’s first homer was his ninth that gave the Mets a lead this season.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Neil Walker’s knee stiffness is the latest Mets injury that bears watching, but for now all indications are Walker will play Friday night in Atlanta.
The second baseman was unavailable Wednesday, according to manager Terry Collins, who shifted Wilmer Flores to Walker’s spot and gave Jose Reyes a start at third base.
“[Walker] said he could play, but I told him he wasn’t going to play with the day off [Thursday] and be ready for the weekend,” Collins said after the Mets’ 4-3 victory over the Rangers.
Collins said Walker told him the knee was bothering him after Tuesday’s game.
Asdrubal Cabrera’s mediocre offensive numbers would be more tolerable for the Mets if he were more dependable defensively.
But the veteran infielder, who has battled knee and leg discom- fort for much of the season, is hardly a Gold Glove at shortstop these days, concerning club officials.
Cabrera, who did help turn a double play Wednesday, has eight errors in 45 games and has been among the biggest sore spots in a defensively challenged infield. On Tuesday, he mishandled a Delino DeShields grounder — a ball that easily could have been ruled an error — only adding to Jacob deGrom’s rough night.
“Last year when the ball was hit to Asdrubal Cabrera, you were out,” Collins said.
“There are slumps defensively just like there are offensively, but this guy does the same approach he’s had forever. They don’t miss a day doing their defensive drills. We’re just not making some plays.”
Collins said the Mets’ overall defensive play has slipped since last season. He was asked if that drop off is having a negative effect on his pitchers’ collective psyche.
“I hope it doesn’t wear on big league pitchers,” Collins said. “You have got to pitch through mistakes or errors.”
Addison Reed pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout for his ninth save in 11 chances this season. … After Jay Bruce’s two home runs, the Mets have at least one homer in 22 of their 24 road games this season. Included is a streak of 11 straight road games with a homer, dating to May 3 in Atlanta.