FULL EXTENT: Eric Young Jr. makes a diving catch in left to end the sixth inning. (Getty Images)
WHEEL HOUSE: Zack Wheeler fires one of his 114 pitches as he teamed with catcher Travis d’Arnaud (above) for the first time in the big leagues to lead the Mets to a 5-3 win over the Braves last night at Citi Field. (
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Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler spent much of the game firing fastballs at the Braves, mixing in occasional changeups and breaking balls, of course, with fellow rookie Travis d’Arnaud catching his first home game. There was trouble here and there — Wheeler’s first 1-2-3 inning didn’t come until the sixth — but not much to worry about.
Until the seventh.
Command got iffy. Wheeler had two on and was reaching back for a reserve fastball to snuff Justin Heyward. Two full-count fastballs were fouled off, so he went to a slider. He missed.
Now manager Terry Collins faced a chore comparable to grabbing a T-bone away from a grizzly. He had to take the ball from Wheeler.
“He was furious he came out when he did,” Collins said.
Up 4-0 but with the bases loaded, Wheeler reluctantly surrendered the ball. The Braves pushed all three runners across, but then the bullpen closed it out and Wheeler, supported by home runs from Marlon Byrd and Ike Davis, beat his hometown Braves for the third time as the Mets won, 5-3, Tuesday night at Citi Field.
“Pretty mad about that last inning,” said Wheeler, who improved to 6-2 by working 6 2/3 innings, yielding six hits and three earned runs and striking out five. “I sort of let it get away from me. It [stinks].”
Wheeler, who fanned 12 in his previous game, is one of the reasons the Mets’ pitching future — actually the pitching present — is so bright.
“Sometimes, it [fastball] is moving a lot and sometimes that’s why I have trouble,” Wheeler said. “But I’ve been able to keep it under control the past few outings.”
Collins said he loved Wheeler’s early work last night. He saw Wheeler’s command dip late then raved about the pitch that just slid away — raved almost as much as he did about Wheeler’s demeanor.
“My whole career I’ve loved the player who is genuinely upset I took him out of the game,” Collins said. “When I went out, I wasn’t sure he was going to give me the ball. I thought it was going to be a wrestling match.”
Wheeler said he knew a few inches prevented him from escaping the biggest jam.
“TD wanted to go with a fastball, but I was feeling the slider,” Wheeler said of the sign from d’Arnaud. “I’d gotten Heyward before. He’s sort of a big chaser, especially down in the zone. But it was a little off the plate. It killed me I had to come out of the game after that.”
Carlos Torres yielded a three-run double to Andrelton Simmons, but from there, the Mets bullpen was fine with LaTroy Hawkins (fifth save) working a perfect ninth.
Ike Davis, who delivered an RBI single in the first, also hit his eight homer — a solo shot to right — in the eighth. The biggest blow of the night came from Byrd, who blasted his career-high 21st homer, a two-run shot in the sixth for a 4-0 lead.
“Every good team has to have a great story and a surprise and he’s it,” Collins said of Byrd, who was suspended 50 games last year for performance-enhancing drugs.
Byrd launched a 2-2 offering from Brandon Beachy (2-1) after a double steal by Eric Young Jr. and Daniel Murphy, plus a throwing error by catcher Brian McCann, produced a run.
“Last year, after everything I went through — the suspension, going home, going down to Mexico [for winter ball] — to sit here now and have a career high in homers is just a blessing,” Byrd said.
D’Arnaud stroked the first pitch he saw from Luis Ayala with two out in the eighth in the left-center gap for a double, his first hit after starting 0-for-10.
“A great feeling, finally got it out of the way,” d’Arnaud said. “What a wonderful feeling.”
Just a little better than trying to get the ball away from Wheeler in the seventh.