Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler had been having bad luck. Whether he pitched well or not, the Mets had lost the last eight games Wheeler had started after winning three of the first four in April. Finally, the Mets won a Wheeler outing Sunday in Arizona — A win they desperately needed.
The 28-year-old Wheeler has been making progress overall, as this makes three quality starts in his last four outings. In this one, after being perfect through three, he ran into some trouble in the fourth when a tight strike zone let Paul Goldschmidt off the hook. Instead of striking out looking, he would work a one-out walk, and the Diamondbacks would score two runs that inning.
Incidentally, Jason Vargas took exception to the home plate umpire’s small strike zone and made his point clearly and loudly from the dugout, leading to his ejection from the game.
“I came in and told him, ‘Thank you, I needed another little break to catch my breath,'” Wheeler joked after the game. “He sort of stuck up for me and voiced his opinion.”
Overall, Wheeler would toss six quality innings, allowing the two runs on three hits and two walks, striking out eight. He had great stuff, throwing a season-high 16 curveballs and hitting 99 mph on the gun with his fastball multiple times.
The Mets starting rotation still owns the best ERA since May 21, despite the team going 7-19 during that span. Wheeler has been a big part of that, and his overall improvement is very encouraging.
With Steven Matz improving as well, Jacob deGrom pitching as well as anyone in the game, and Noah Syndergaard due back from injury soon, the Mets rotation is starting to look as scary as was originally prophesied.
