Zack Wheeler was greeted rudely by the Nationals in his fourth start of the season Sunday night. After hitting Adam Eaton with a pitch (which, I guess, is greeting the Nationals rudely), Wheeler allowed singles to Trea Turner and Bryce Harper loading the bases with nobody out. After striking out Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy hit a grand slam to give the Nationals an early 4-0 lead.
It was after the grand slam, though, that Wheeler settled in. Over the next 6 2/3 innings, he would allow only one hit and one walk while striking out five.
“He certainly started off with a rough first inning but he settled down,” Terry Collins said. “He just got really good in the middle innings. The breaking ball was so much better, his fastball command was better, he pitched in very effectively. That was a great start for him.”
Wheeler’s final line for the day was 7 innings, four earned runs on four hits, a walk, a hit by pitch, and six strikeouts while throwing 101 pitches. If Wheeler could take back just one of those many pitches, though, he knows exactly which one it would be.
“I think I just made that one mistake to Murph,” Wheeler said. “He’s a great hitter and I just tried to run a two-seam in there and get it in enough, but it went right in his swing path so he put a good swing on it.”
So far this season, Wheeler is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA. Barring any changes, he will face off against Stephen Strasburg this Saturday at Nationals Park at 1:05 PM.
