In a dismal season for the Mets, Zack Wheeler continued to provide at least some hope for the future with another stellar outing on Wednesday night.
Granted, this one came after an interminable rain delay against a rotten Miami team that played like they wanted to be anywhere but at a soggy Citi Field, as the Mets pounded the last-place Marlins, 13-0.
The five-hour, 35-minute delay to start the night also may have cost Wheeler a shot at his first shutout in more than four years.
Wheeler threw eight shutout innings before being removed after 89 pitches.
“We talked to him between innings and he was tired,” Mickey Callaway said. “He indicated he didn’t want to go back out. … He said, ‘I’m kind of done.’ The six-hour wait took a toll.”
The right-hander also took a long-term view of the situation.
“I really would like to have finished it, but I was tired,’’ Wheeler said. “After only throwing 88 innings last year, I figured it was kind of smart to let somebody else get the ninth. I didn’t want to push it too much.”
Wheeler pointed to his issues staying healthy — and the fact the game didn’t mean anything in the standings.
“The competitor in me wants to go out there and throw nine every game, but maybe the smart move is [to say], ‘We aren’t going anywhere right now and I want to be ready for next year. Play it smart, especially with my [injury] history.’ ”
The teams played just one game of a scheduled doubleheader, as the few brave (lost?) souls who waited out the start of the game from the announced crowd of 20,423 saw Wheeler continue his second-half excellence.
He gave up four hits in a season-high eight innings, walking none and striking out seven to improve to 9-1 with a 1.67 ERA in his last 11 starts. He also has given up just three earned runs over 36 innings in his last five starts in Queens.
Wheeler retired 18 of the first 19 batters he faced, allowing just a leadoff single to center by JT Riddle in the third. And he needed just 57 pitches to finish six innings and only stumbled after the Mets’ seven-run sixth. Even then, he got an inning-ending double play after loading the bases.
The Mets’ offense pounded Miami starter Trevor Richards for three runs in the second and fourth to give Wheeler a 6-0 lead.
Amed Rosario hit a three-run homer in the fourth and Jay Bruce smacked a grand slam in a seven-run sixth to put Miami away. Dom Smith also hit a two-run shot.