Zack Wheeler looked to get his season on track Friday night, picking up his first quality start of the season and helping the Mets defeat the Atlanta Braves by a score of 6-2.
Wheeler, 28, pitched six innings while allowing two runs on six hits, walking three and striking out eight. His performance was a great rebound after a disappointing seven-walk performance against the Washington Nationals back on April 7.
The first inning seemed to be the real turning point for Wheeler as he buckled down to limit the early damage. Zack would load the bases with just one out in the inning before retiring Nick Markakis on a sacrifice fly and setting down Dansby Swanson on strikes to end the threat.
Zack reflected on what may have been the difference in his mechanics from the first couple starts from this season compared to last year.
“I was actually watching video yesterday of them from last year and I was watching myself & I was a lot slower out of the wind-up so we timed it & my times my past 2 starts were much faster.” (Yahoo Sports)
Wheeler picked up his first win of 2019 on Friday night, tossing a total of 111 pitches on the night, 69 of which were for strikes. Zack showed glimpses of the pitcher who dominated major league baseball in the second half of the 2018 season.
The Mets right-hander ended his game strong, reaching 98 MPH in his final sequence of pitches in the sixth inning and topped out at 101 MPH on the night. Hopefully, this start was just the beginning of good things to come for Wheeler in 2019.
