PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler wasn’t showing much Brotherly Love for his former team Saturday.
At least he hadn’t into the seventh inning, at which point the Mets had managed two unearned runs against the fireballing Phillies right-hander on a soggy and windy day.
Wheeler’s generosity grew in the seventh, when the Mets rallied for three runs — with help by a misjudged ball in the outfield — but a full comeback never materialized in a 7-5 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
The former Met allowed eight hits and was charged with three earned runs over his seven innings.
His mound opponent, Jose Quintana, lasted six innings and allowed six runs, five earned, on eight hits with 10 strikeouts.
Mets manager Buck Showalter noted the defense behind Quintana wasn’t crisp, skewing the left-hander’s final pitching line.
“Those are tough outings that I think sometimes are more impressive than shutouts,” Showalter said. “But that’s him in a nutshell — I couldn’t have picked a better guy to pick in the conditions we had today.”
This one had ugly plays on both sides.
Trea Turner booted Brett Baty’s grounder, helping the Mets take a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
DJ Stewart scored from second base on the play and Ronny Mauricio, running hard from first base, slid into the plate with the second run. Stewart walked to begin the inning and Mauricio’s single put runners on first and second.
Bryce Harper homered leading off the bottom of the second, but the Phillies weren’t finished.
After Francisco Lindor committed a fielding error on J.T. Realmuto’s grounder, Nick Castellanos delivered an RBI triple to tie it 2-2.
But Quintana kept Castellanos stranded by striking out Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas in succession before retiring Rodolfo Castro on a groundout.
Alec Bohm’s two-out solo homer in the third placed the Mets in a 3-2 hole.
Quintana had allowed just two homers in his previous 11 starts, but surrendered two on Saturday.
After Bohm’s homer, Quintana said he changed his pitching plane to ensure he threw the ball lower in the strike zone.
“Tough day,” Quintana said of the windy conditions.
Kyle Schwarber’s double in the fifth put runners on second and third before Turner’s RBI fielder’s choice gave the Phillies a 4-2 lead.
Harper followed with a shot off Pete Alonso’s glove that brought in an additional two runs.
The inning started with Baty throwing low to first base, which allowed Rojas to reach on an infield single.
Rojas misjudged Nimmo’s line drive to center field in the seventh into a two-run triple that pulled the Mets within 6-4.
Rojas started in on the ball, but it sailed over his head. Lindor’s ensuing sacrifice fly sliced the Phillies’ lead to 6-5.
Baty and Mark Vientos singled in succession against Wheeler to start the rally.
Realmuto’s RBI single in the eighth against Reed Garrett extended the Phillies’ lead to 7-5.
