WASHINGTON — The Mets survived Zack Wheeler’s dreaded one big meltdown Thursday.
Then he gave up one big hit.
After Wheeler got tagged for four runs in the first inning, the Mets recovered to tie the game through three innings. But before Wheeler was done, Gerardo Parra took him deep for a two-run shot in the fifth that propelled the Nationals to a 7-6 win.
“They hit a couple good pitches, you gotta give it to them sometimes, but most of it was on me today,” Wheeler said. “I take responsibility for this because we scored some runs. You want to keep those runs off the board and give our team a chance. I let us down today.”
Wheeler had been dominant in his previous two starts, allowing four runs and two walks while striking out 21 in a combined 14 innings. He was not as crisp Thursday, and he was charged for six runs on 11 hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings.
Considering how his day started, Wheeler making it through six innings was a relative positive for the Mets, in the early stages of 20 games in 20 days, and their bullpen.
“I felt good about today, but the results weren’t there, really,” said Wheeler, whose ERA rose to 4.85. “I missed a lot with fastball command today and that’s where they really got me, when I was missing fastball.”
That fastball failed Wheeler in one of the game’s decisive moments. With one out and one on in the fifth, Wheeler tried to throw an inside fastball to Parra on a 2-2 count. Instead, he left a 96-mph heater down the middle and Parra crushed it to right field for a 6-4 lead.
“Parra obviously had a good day off of [Wheeler],” manager Mickey Callaway said after Parra went 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBIs and a walk.
Wheeler spent 31 pitches getting through the first inning, spotting the Nationals a 4-0 lead, before needing just five to breeze through the second. That lengthened his day, and kept him around to give up the crushing blow to Parra.
“He stayed out there for six and threw the ball better than the numbers showed, in my opinion,” Callaway said.
