Rolling Wheeler dominates Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Zack Wheeler spent August readjusting the bar as such that Wednesday’s performance might have seemed surprising.
Three earned runs allowed by Wheeler? What gives?
The Mets right-hander was just fine, actually, save for two pitches out of 105 that the Dodgers crushed to the San Gabriel Mountains. And the Mets lineup showed up to offer support for Wheeler in a 7-3 victory at Dodger Stadium.
Cody Bellinger blasted a solo homer in the seventh to end Wheeler’s streak of allowing two earned runs or fewer at eight starts. Of the three hits allowed by Wheeler, two were homers — Max Muncy went deep in the fourth.
Wheeler and catcher Kevin Plawecki both received CT scans after the game, the results of which were not immediately available. Wheeler took a Justin Turner line drive off the chest in the fourth inning (X-rays were negative) and remained in the game and Plawecki got drilled in the ribs by a Pat Venditte pitch in the eighth and was removed. The Mets wanted both players further examined before boarding a transcontinental flight home.
Wheeler (10-7) struck out nine and walked two, relying on his curveball to keep the Dodgers off balance.
“These guys are swinging hard, trying to put it over the fence,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “And you have to not allow them to sit on one speed. If he was just throwing all fastballs and sliders or all fastballs and changeups and everything is within 5 mph of each other you are going to have a rough night, so mixing in the curveball with a little more separation, speed-wise, really is effective against this lineup.”
The Mets collected 14 hits, but hardly hammered the ball: Of their hits, 12 were considered soft contact, turning the game into a bloopfest.
Amed Rosario finished 3-for-5 with three singles from the leadoff spot and Jeff McNeil had a double and single from the No. 2 hole on a day the Mets went without a homer.
Michael Conforto’s RBI single in the seventh, before another run scored on a wild pitch, gave the Mets their margin of victory.
Rosario and Wilmer Flores each delivered a bloop RBI single against Hyun-Jin Ryu in the fifth in extending the Mets’ lead to 5-2. Plawecki’s double began the rally.
Wheeler received a scare in the fourth when Turner’s line drive struck him in the chest. But the right-hander threw two warm-up pitches as Mets personnel watched and remained in the game.
Flores stroked an RBI single during a three-run fourth inning in which the Mets went ahead 3-0. McNeil should have been out at the plate to end the inning with only one run scoring, but Yasmani Grandal lost the ball applying the tag on a throw that had McNeil beaten by 15 feet. Austin Jackson followed with an RBI single and was thrown out trying to reach second.
David Wright will work out Friday at Citi Field and is expected to play in a simulated game Saturday. The Mets captain is still awaiting medical clearance to play his first major league game since May 27, 2016.