BIG WHEEL KEEPS TURNIN’
Zack goes 7 scoreless in win, now 17 consecutive frames without allowing a run
Zack Wheeler, unlike his rotation mate Jacob deGrom, got some run support Saturday night. As it turned out, all he needed was one.
Wheeler was brilliant for the second straight start, going seven innings, striking out nine and allowing just three hits and no runs as the Mets bounced back to beat the Braves 3-0.
Maybe all it took was the trade rumors to start swirling for Wheeler to step up his game, because he has now gone a career-high 17 consecutive innings without allowing a run. The Mets made no moves to break up their once-touted rotation at the July 31st deadline, and though Wheeler was the most likely candidate to be dealt, he is rewarding the Mets for their faith in him.
“He obviously pitched really well. I saw the same stuff, same power fastball, same hard breaking slider,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “His consistency is making him feel a little more confident each start.”
Wheeler has won four straight starts, which no Met has done since deGrom last year, back in the long-ago era when the club actually put some runs on the board behind him.
As far as the offense was concerned, the Mets pieced together three runs with only one extra-base hit on the night, a double by rookie Jeff McNeil, who has been thrust into a starting role after Asdrubal Cabrera was traded to the Phillies. He was 4-for-4 in the victory for his first career multiple-hit game and is batting .320.
“His ability to manipulate the barrel, come out of his traditional stance and swing and put the ball in play, there’s value in that,” Callaway said of the rookie infielder.
The Mets plated their first run in the second inning on some heads-up baserunning by veteran Todd Frazier, who hasn’t contributed much with his bat since returning from the disabled list. He was plunked to start off the frame before McNeil doubled to put him on third. Amed Rosario hit a soft grounder to third base, and Frazier took off on the throw to first and scored.
In the sixth, Michael Conforto, Frazier and McNeil hit consecutive singles, but Conforto was held up at third, robbing McNeil of an RBI. Austin Jackson then singled on a ball that hit off pitcher Shane Carle’s glove to plate Conforto, and Frazier came in to score on a shallow sac fly by Kevin Plawecki, again showing off his hustle.
It’s just this kind of passthe-baton run production that the Mets have been lacking when deGrom takes the mound. Wheeler’s ERA fell to 3.89 and he picked up his sixth win of the season Saturday. That’s one more victory than deGrom, whose ERA is a full two points better at 1.85.
Robert Gsellman picked up the four-out save, all four plays being made by McNeil at second base to finish off his career night.