The only way to describe Zack Wheeler‘s season this year is that is has been an up-and-down affair. There will be games in which he is brilliant, shutting down a lineup through seven innings. Then he will give up a pair of home runs in the next outing, allowing five or six runs, leaving nothing but questions as to whether he will ever become the front-line starter he was promised to become.

The microcosm of his inconsistency has never been more evident than in August. After the Mets held onto Wheeler at the trade deadline, the 29-year-old had two of his best starts of the season, pitching 15 combined scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins. Then came a three-game stretch which saw Wheeler pitch to a 7.31 ERA, allowing 22 hits and walking seven batters across 16 innings pitched.

In his last action in August, Wheeler turned in a quality start, pitching six innings of one-run ball against the Phillies last week.

On Wednesday, Wheeler walked the tightrope all game, struggling to finish off innings as the Washington Nationals consistently started rallies with two outs.

In the first inning, Wheeler had two outs when he gave up a base hit to Anthony Rendon and then followed that by walking Juan Soto. Ryan Zimmerman then scorched a line drive to right field that nearly went over the head of Michael Conforto, but he was able to reel it in to keep the Nationals off the board.

The second inning once again brought a two-out rally, this one starting with the bottom of Washington’s lineup. Gerardo Parra singled and then Wheeler quickly fell into a 3-0 hole to pitcher Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez took two called strikes, before fouling off a pitch and then lacing a single of his own to put two runners on for Trea Turner.

Turner would deliver the lone blemish on Wheeler’s resume, getting a base hit of his own to score Parra and give the Nationals the early 1-0 lead.

Asdrubal Cabrera was the next man up for Washington and he drew a walk, putting MVP-candidate Rendon at the plate with the bases loaded. Wheeler went ahead of Rendon, 0-2, before he worked a full count. Wheeler ended up throwing a rare splitter that induced a flyout to escape another jam.

Wheeler was at 58 pitches through two innings, making it clear that the bullpen would need to be heavily relied on, just a day removed from the worst meltdown of the season. Juan Lagares tied the game in the third inning with a home run, but in the bottom half of the inning, Wheeler once again found himself in a jam.

After allowing singles to Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon, Tuesday’s hero Kurt Suzuki came up to the plate with a chance to do some damage. Wheeler ended up striking him out on three pitches, before getting two flyouts to left fielder J.D. Davis to strand his seventh runner in three innings.

Robinson Cano gave Wheeler a two-run lead with a home run in the fourth inning, which he protected with ease in the bottom half. Aside from a single by Turner, Wheeler had no troubles in a 15-pitch fourth inning.

In the fifth inning, Wheeler made an excellent bare-handed play when Juan Soto tried to push a bunt past him away from the shift. The no-look throw beat Soto by a step and Wheeler would finish off his only 1-2-3 inning of the day, retiring Suzuki and Zimmerman in order.

When Brandon Nimmo pinch hit for Wheeler, as part of a three-run sixth inning, it ended his day before he could make a bid for a quality start. Still, at 101 pitches, Wheeler may have been done anyway.

Despite not having his best control, frequently missing his spots and walking three batters, Wheeler’s stuff was good enough to only allow one run and secure a win in the Mets’ 8-4 victory. His final line was five innings pitched, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out three.

“We’ve been playing well,” Wheeler said. “Any time you can win a series it’s big, whether you win two-out-of-three or three-out-of-four. As long as you’re winning games, you’re heading in the right direction. We still feel confident about our chances. We just have to battle and go out there and win more games.”

Wheeler lowered his ERA from 4.41 to 4.33 with this start while the Mets moved to 71-68 4.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs for the second NL Wild Card spot.