Zack Wheeler and the New York Mets opened up their three-game series in Arizona on Friday night and were looking for some more length out of their starting rotation as some of the key parts of the bullpen recharge their batteries. Wheeler was able to provide that relief, delivering seven innings of work.
Wheeler, 29, produced a mostly solid game for New York, allowing four runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out seven. One of the great bright spots of his night came in the sense that Zack did not walk one Diamondback in his seven innings of work.
Zack mostly cruised through his first five innings of work, allowing just the one run in the second inning that came off of a Alex Avila groundout that allowed Christian Walker to score. It was not until the sixth inning that things unraveled for Wheeler as both Ketel Marte and Walker went deep to tie the game at four.
Wheeler spoke about the troublesome sixth inning after Friday night’s victory.
“The second homer that inning, it was a good pitch,” Wheeler said. “It was a fastball at the knees, inside, on the black. He just turned on it.” (NY Post)
The right-hander though was able to collect himself after a rough inning and put together a flawless seventh that included strikeouts of Archie Bradley and Jarrod Dyson.
Wheeler spoke of the importance of gathering himself after a tough inning and continuing on to a strong seventh.
“He (Marte) got me there, but these guys keep on battling,” Wheeler said. “Just try to assess the damage and go from there.” (NY Daily News)
Wheeler’s efforts were good enough to pick up the win in a thrilling Mets 5-4 victory over Arizona. Zack improved to 5-3 on the year with an ERA of 4.68 and a WHIP of 1.29. He has put tossed 87 strikeouts in 77 innings of work so far in 2019 with an average of 10.17 K/9.
Zack’s FIP at this point of the season lays at 3.34 with a WAR of 1.9. Wheeler has shown an ability to go deep into games at points this season, something this team desperately needs with a bullpen that has underperformed at times.
